Cosmic Crisis
by Nekofeko
Summary: I wrote this fanfiction in 1999. It's old, outdated, and I'm rather ashamed of the quality of work, but it holds a special place in my heart. I keep it listed here for the people who loved it back then and would like to revisit it again.
1. Chapter 1

Cosmic Crisis  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Introduction  
  
"Natalie, you're going to be late!" a teenage girl said to her friend. Another girl, who was slowly walking down the sidewalk, just mumbled something about her test that morning. Both were wearing their school uniforms.   
  
"Hurry up!" The first girl said, pushing her friend down the walk, trying to persuade her to move faster. Suddenly, Natalie looked at her watch and facefaulted.   
  
"Oh no! It's 8:15!" She shrieked, and ran down the sidewalk. The first girl just sighed. "That's Natalie," she chuckled to herself. She tucked her short blonde hair behind her ears, and followed after her friend. She decided to take a shortcut, to meet up with her friend at the school.   
  
Natalie was running as fast as her skirt would allow her to, before it would fly up, exposing her underwear. She turned to look for her friend, but saw that she wasn't there. "Hmm...must have taken that shortcut again." She thought. Suddenly, right as she turned her head to look in front of her, she smacked into something and fell to the ground in a daze. She looked up, and observed a guy about her age, looking at her with question in his eyes. He was about 6 inches taller than she was, with purple hair that fell just above his earlobes, and blue eyes. She admired his build, but tried not to stare. He reached his hand down to help her up.   
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Y-Yeah I'm fine." She said, standing up. She tried to regain her composure, but wobbled a bit to the side.  
  
"Do you need any help?" he asked her again, putting his hand behind her back to stabilize her.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no...it's okay." She said, still dazed from the impact. He stared at her with curious eyes. "Beautiful." He thought. She had straight, silky brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, with green eyes and a slight tan. She had a white ribbon in her hair to match her school uniform.   
  
"So what's your name?" She asked. Trunks snapped out of his daze looking rather embarrassed.   
  
"Trunks...yours?" he replied feebly.  
  
"I'm Natalie." She said, and then looked back at her watch. "Oh! I am so late! I'm gonna have to practically fly to make the first bell!" she cried. "Sorry!" she called back to Trunks as she sped down the street. He watched her figure until it was out of eyesight. He turned back and continued to walk down the street, but the thought of her distracted him. He decided to follow her. He shot up into the air and sped forward, scanning the streets below for any sign of her. He stopped when he noticed her in an alley corner. He looked close, and realized that someone was trying to attack her.  
  
"Come with me, baby." A tall, scrubby-looking guy said, moving closer to her. He repeated to take steps towards the frightened schoolgirl, when she suddenly brought her foot around and kicked the back of his knees to send him crashing to the ground. "Aaah! You'll pay for that you tramp!" he yelled, and attempted to get back up onto his feet. He moved forward to grab her shirt, but she blocked his hand with her left arm and punched him in the stomach with the second. Before he could get back up, she flipped over him and proceeded to leave the alley.   
  
"Wow, where did she learn to fight like that?" Trunks thought to himself as he hovered above the scene. This furthered his interest in her. She continued to run down the street until she came to a rather large private school. She ran through the yard and into the main building, just as the first bell rang. Although she was late for class, she had made it in one piece.  
  
Trunks studied the school for a minute longer, and then turned and shot across the sky and back to Capsule Corp. When he entered, Bulma was standing in front of him with a worried look on her face.   
"Where have you been? I thought you'd still be sleeping by now!" his mother said rather loudly.  
  
"I just went out for a walk. Why?" He replied.  
  
"Well next time tell me where you're going so I don't have to wonder where you are!" Trunks was about to offer a weak excuse, but Vegita entered the foyer and interjected.  
  
"He can take care of himself, woman. He isn't some human weakling." He said harshly.  
  
"I don't care what he is! He's my son and I plan to watch out for him!" she yelled back at Vegita, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.   
  
"He's my son too, and I know that he can take care of himself! He's sixteen!" he shot back at her.  
  
"Mom! Dad! Just shutup!" Trunks yelled at the arguing couple. They both turned around and looked at him with menacing eyes.   
"Or...not." He said, and stumbled up the stairs. He went up two flights to get to his room. He peeled his clothes off and took a shower. He couldn't get her face out of his head. He sensed something different about her. He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. When he opened the door to the bathroom, a cloud of steam flew out. He walked into the living area of his room and slipped into a pair of cargo pants and a tight black tank top.   
  
"TRUNKS!!" He heard his mother's cries below, and ran downstairs to see what the matter was. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he raced into the kitchen where his mother was.  
  
"What!?" he asked while catching his breath.  
  
"Your father and I are going out for the afternoon. Watch your sister." she said, walking out into the foyer. He looked in Bra's direction, and she sat in the living room holding a doll, with a grin across her face. He sighed. He knew what was coming. He saw them to the door, and then turned around to discover Bra clinging to his pants.  
  
"Whatcha want to do, huh?" he said to his sister, rubbing her hair. She looked up at him with a grin from ear to ear and held up two Barbies.   
  
"Oh no! Are you sure you don't wanna do anything else?" he said hopefully. Bra just shook her head back and forth, and proceeded to run into the living area. He followed, and then remembered a time when he caught his dad playing dolls with his sister a few weeks ago. He laughed to himself as he recalled the look on Vegita's face when he was discovered.   
  
He sat down on the ground next to Bra as she set up her dolls for a tea party. Trunks' thoughts drifted back to Natalie. How did she learn to defend herself like that? Why was she so intriguing? Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when Bra jumped in his lap.   
"Huh? Oh, hey." He said, snapping back to reality.   
  
"Play with me!" She demanded. Trunks willingly say down in front of the small table and sipped pretend-tea.   
  
  
While he was enjoying the company of his sister, Natalie sat in school, half asleep. She hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night. She had a recurring nightmare that wouldn't allow her to get a decent night's rest.   
  
"Natalie, I suggest you listen if you want to get a decent grade on your biology final this week!" The teacher snapped at her. There were chuckles heard within the class. After the bell rang, Natalie went to the bathroom to freshen up.   
  
"What's wrong with me? I usually do so well in that class!" she thought as she splashed water onto her face.   
  
"Natalie, hurry up! We'll be late for French!" her friend yelled down the hall. She picked up her things and dragged herself to 4th period.   
  
  
"Here. Take one of my homemade muffins." Bra said, handing her brother an imaginary muffin. He reached out his hand and accepted it. They sat and "ate" for a few minutes, and then Bra interrupted the silence.  
  
"Trunks, tell me a story." She requested.  
  
"What kind of story?" he asked.  
  
"A nice one with a happy ending." She replied, while settling onto the sofa.   
  
"Well, I'll try." He said, and began a story about fairies and princesses and other things that little girls liked to hear. Soon, Bra was fast asleep in a little ball. Trunks picked her up and carried her to her room, where she slept. He closed the door and went back downstairs. His stomach was growling, and he was craving some real food, as opposed to the pretend things he had been "eating" earlier. He went into the kitchen and piled things onto a plate, and then headed for his room. He sat out on his balcony and ate, enjoying the slight breeze that rustled through his hair. He kept getting a strange feeling about Natalie, as if she was in danger.   
  
When he finished his huge portions, he returned to the kitchen for more. He saw a scouter sitting on the counter, near the entrance to the science wing.   
  
"Must be one of mom's." he thought as he picked it up curiously. He put it on and pressed a button. It began to pick up on familiar Ki's, which he recognized at once. Suddenly, it detected a significantly large one near downtown. He sat up and stared harder, alarmed. Who could it be? He took off the scouter and decided to go check it out. Before leaving Capsule Corp., he set the alarm system to keep his sister safe. He flew out the door, his mind racing. 


	2. Chapter 2

Cosmic Crisis   
  
  
Chapter 2 - Disaster  
  
He could feel it radiating from the source. He sensed it wasn't evil, but he wanted to make sure. When he arrived in the city, he slowed down, scanning the area. He noticed that many of the schools were letting out. He decided to find Natalie. Sure enough, he spotted her at once. He landed a distance from the yard, as to make sure he didn't startle anyone.  
  
Natalie walked out of the building, books in hand.   
  
"I can't believe myself. I couldn't pick up on anything today at school. I know I am going to fail my finals this week." She complained to her friend, the same one that she was with that morning.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Nat. I'm sure you just need to go home and get some rest. It will be better tomorrow." The girl said reassuringly. "I have to go to my art class! I'll see you tomorrow!" she said as she ran down the street opposite of Natalie.   
  
"Yeah, bye!" she mumbled, and walked out onto the schoolyard. She inhaled deeply and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, she thought. But why did she feel so strange? She proceeded to walk out onto the sidewalk, where she fought to keep her balance. Trunks appeared behind her and out his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, and spun around in a fighting position.  
  
"Oh, it's you!" she said, startled. Trunks picked up her books. "What are you doing here?" she continued.  
  
"Oh, I was in the area." He said grinning.  
  
"Um...okay!" she said. "But I'm not really feeling well, I have to warn you." She said, her voice quivering.   
  
"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, worriedly.  
  
"I don't even know. I just need to get some rest."  
  
"Do you want me to walk you home?" he said, with his arm around hr shoulder.  
  
"S-sure." She said, struggling to see straight. "What's the matter with me?" she thought. "He must think I'm a freak or something..."   
  
"She doesn't look very good. I should get her home fast before she passes out." He thought to himself. He held her trembling body stable while they walked down the street. She felt so weak, so helpless. She hated being this way, but what could she do? Suddenly, a migraine headache crashed through her head. She grasped her head, and began to fall over. Trunks wasted no time, and picked her up. He shot up into the air and raced back to Capsule Corp.   
  
When she awoke, she was in a hospital-like bed with machines all around her. One was measuring her heart rate, the other measuring her brain waves. She slowly opened her eyes. Here eyes focused slowly on a figure next to her. It was Trunks! She sat up in bed; her heart beating faster, which was apparent from the readings on the monitor. She looked around the unfamiliar room. She glanced back at Trunks, who was fast asleep on a chair next to her bed. Her heart rate slowed back down.  
  
"Where am I?" she thought. "I'm not in the..." she was cut off but Trunks' stirring. She looked over at him. He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on Natalie's body.   
  
"Natalie?" he asked sleepily. "Are you okay?"   
  
"Trunks? Where am I?" she asked, looking around.  
  
"You're at Capsule Corp. This is my house."  
  
"Your house!? You LIVE here?" she asked, surprised.  
  
"Y-yeah..."   
  
She was amazed at all the technology that was around. And this was only one room! Suddenly, she remembered that she was supposed to go straight home that afternoon.   
  
"Not again! I have to go home right now!" she said, getting out of bed and tore away from the machines.  
  
"Wait! You're not well enough to go out by yourself!" Trunks said, grabbing her arm.   
  
"I have to! Come with me if you want." She said, running out of the room, but stopped abruptly, as she didn't know where she was going. Trunks followed, leading the way out of Capsule Corp. Natalie was amazed at all the gadgets that were just lying around.   
  
"I just have to take a shortcut for a sec. I'll be right back." Trunks said, and ran up the stairs towards Bra's room. Natalie sat at the bottom of the stairs. While she was looking around, a blue-tinted scouter caught her eye. She picked it up, and began to fiddle with the buttons out of curiosity. She pressed something, and the scouter made a bleeping noise and began to display random numbers. She set it down as soon as she heard Trunks coming down the stairs.  
  
"Come on, let's go." He said, leading her out of the building and then resetting the alarm system.   
  
Natalie ran down the walk, picking up speed as she went. A couple of times she swayed from side to side, but otherwise she was fine.  
  
"What happened back there?" he thought, remembering the incident earlier that day. "She seems fine now...I don't understand."   
  
Natalie ran until she reached a meadow with waist high grass. She ran through the grass, enjoying the breeze. She laughed as she raced with Trunks through the field. Trunks knew he could easily win, but decided not to. Soon, he could see a house in the distance. It got bigger as they approached it. It was a two-story brick house with black shutters. She ran to the front door and rushed inside, almost slamming the door in Trunks' face in her hurry.   
  
"MOM!" she called throughout the house. There was so answer, so she tried again. After searching the house for her, she gave up.  
  
"Come on!" she called to Trunks and ran up the stairs. She came to a door with a picture of a sunflower on the front of it. She went inside, and threw her books on the bed. Trunks' figured it was her room. He looked around, and inspected it. There was a bed in the corner with a yellow and blue comforter on it, as well as a pile of stuffed animals. There was a dresser in the corner, with yet another arrangement of animals on it. She reached inside her closet and pulled out some clothes, and then ran into the bathroom. He sat down on her bed, and continued to inspect the room. She had a large bay window on one side of the room, which had a great view of the meadow that they just ran through. The paint was a subtle yellow color, with a border of sunflowers and other blue flowers. Natalie stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of short denim shorts and a white strappy tank top. Trunks couldn't help but stare at her as she threw her uniform into her closet. She then raced across the room and fell onto a rolling chair and wheeled herself to her desk. She quickly typed something into her computer and then got up while it logged onto the internet.   
  
"You want something to eat or drink?" she asked.   
  
"No thanks." He answered. She hoped back into her chair again, seemingly full of energy. She checked her e-mail and then saw a highlight on the screen.  
  
"Oh, it says there was a terrible car crash today. One person was critically injured, the other suffered a broken leg." She said, straining to read the letters. "Sorry, my vision is a bit blurry today for some reason." She continued, and logged off. She was about to turn on her radio, when the phone rang. She picked up her cordless, and answered.  
  
"Hello?" she spoke into the phone.  
  
"Is this Natalie Holmes?" the grim voice asked.  
  
"Yes...why?" she asked. Trunks watched as she suddenly became faint.   
  
"W-What did you say?" she said into the mouthpiece, trembling. After a few minutes, she put the phone back into the cradle slowly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She looked fearfully at Trunks.  
  
"That was the police." She said, struggling to stay calm. "My mother was in that car crash." 


	3. Chapter 3

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 3 - Bravery  
  
Natalie sat by her mother's side, holding her hand. Trunks sat and watched as Natalie spoke softly to her mom.  
  
"It's going to be okay, mom. I'm here." She whispered. Her mother was lying unconscious on the hospital bed, with IV's in her wrists. There was a heart monitor, and a machine that measured her vital signs. A nurse walked in with a chart in her hands, and began to scribble notes onto the paper.  
  
"Is she going to be okay?" Natalie asked fearfully.  
  
"Well, things are looking pretty bad right now. She has suffered some serious blows to the head and her skull is fractured." The nurse replied and then left, shutting the door. Natalie curled up in the chair and started sobbing. Trunks considered going back to Capsule Corp. to see if Bra was okay, but didn't want to leave Natalie.   
  
"Are you going to be okay here for a while?" he asked.   
  
"I'll be fine. You can go if you want to." She said, not even turning her head. Trunks started to talk out, and then turned back to her.  
  
"I'll be back." He said, and shut the door behind him. He walked rather briskly down the corridors. He really needed to get back home. He picked up the pace, and within a few minutes, he was outside. He hovered in the air for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then sped across the sky towards his house. He arrived home, and slipped into the house. When he got to the staircase, he came face to face with his angry father.   
  
"Where have you been!?" he asked in his harsh tone of voice.   
  
"Uh..." he started to explain, but was interrupted by his mother.  
  
"How could you go off and leave your sister like that?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Something came up..."  
  
"I don't care! Next time you do this you are going to be grounded, do you understand me?" she interrupted.  
  
"Yes ma-am." He replied meekly, and shuffled up the stairs. He went to his room and plopped down onto his bed. He hadn't considered getting the number to the hospital. Soon, Bra walked into his room.  
  
"I suppose you're angry with me too, huh?" he asked dryly.  
  
"No" she replied. "I was sleeping the whole time." She continued, and then walked out of the room quietly. Trunks looked at the clock. It was 4:15. He walked downstairs to discover his parents sitting together on the couch.   
  
"Mom...? Dad...?" he asked slowly. They quickly regained their composure and sat up straight.   
  
"Yes?" Bulma asked in a high pitched voice.  
  
"I'm going over to Goten's place, ok?" he said, grabbing a soda out of the fridge.   
  
"Yeah, sure. Just be back in time for dinner." Bulma said, yawning and stretching her arms out.   
  
"Will be." He said, and ran out the door. He flew across the sky towards the house. He looked out into the horizon to see an approaching storm. He heard the low rumbling of thunder in the distance. A cool breeze chilled his body, causing him to speed up.  
  
  
"Goku! Goten! DINNER!" Chi-Chi yelled up the stairs. Before she could blink, the two saiyans sped down the stairs and were sitting at the table in anticipation.   
  
"I hope you two are hungry." She said, carrying a large pot of stew and enough rice to feed an army. The two inhaled the food, making slurping sounds as they ate.  
  
"Mmm! This is great Chi-Chi!" Goku said in between bites. When they had finished five minutes later, they sat back in their chairs holding their stomachs with content looks on their faces. Goten opened his mouth to sigh, but let out a burp instead, causing Goku to erupt into laughter. Chi-Chi just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Will you two please act your age!" she yelled.  
  
"Sorry, dear!" Goku said, trying to smother his laughter. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Got it!" Goten called as he ran to the door. He opened it, to reveal Trunks standing in the doorstep.  
  
"What's up?" Goten asked his friend.  
  
"I need to talk to you." Trunks said, stepping inside. The two boys ran upstairs to Goten's room and plopped down onto the bed.  
  
"What's the deal?" Goten asked curiously.  
  
"I have sensed the presence of a new ki." Trunks said.  
  
"Really?" Goten said, his eyes widening. "Have you found the source?"   
  
"Not yet, but I have a hunch." Trunks said, pulling out the same scouter he had used earlier that day.  
  
"Is it evil?" Goten asked.  
  
"I don't think so." Trunks said, fiddling with the buttons. "Ah, got it." He said, pressing a button, causing the scouter to display several numerals. It picked up on Goten's ki first, and the Goku's, followed by several others that he recognized. Then it locked onto the unfamiliar one.  
  
"There! I found it!" Trunks said, sitting up.   
  
"Where is it!?" Goten asked impatiently. He was eager to find it.  
  
"It's moving southwest, quite slowly." He said. "Let's go." Trunks said, leaping off the bed. The two ran down the stairs and made their way to the door.  
  
"And just where do you two think you're going?" Chi-Chi asked, washing the dishes.   
  
"To find a-" Goten began, but was interrupted my Trunks.  
  
"Somewhere." He said, and then grabbed Goten by the arm and bolted out the door. The launched into the sky, Trunks scanning the area. Another thunderclap was heard in the distance, followed by a cool breeze. Trunks suddenly spotted Natalie walking home, and flew to the ground.  
  
"Natalie!" he called out to her. She turned around with surprise on her face, and then calmed down when she recognized him.  
  
"Trunks! What are you doing out here?" she said, the breeze picking up. Trunks pressed another button on the scouter and it locked onto Natalie's figure immediately. Trunks' eyes widened in surprise.  
"You're the one!" he said. Goten landed next to him.   
  
"I'm WHAT one? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked, puzzled. Soon, small raindrops began to fall.  
  
"Come on! Let's get out of the rain!" she called to the two boys, and ran towards her house. By the time they reached it, the rain was drenching the three teens. They ran into the house, closing and locking the door behind them. Natalie ran up the dark stairway, and into her room, followed by Trunks and Goten. When they were all in her room, she shut the door and flipped on the light.   
  
"Natalie, I need to talk to you about something." Trunks said.  
"Sure, hold on." She said, going into the bathroom. She pulled her damp hair into a tight ponytail and slipped into a navy blue tank top and another pair of denim shorts. She emerged from the bathroom, and sat down on the windowsill, looking out at the grass blowing in the wind. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying. She turned around and looked at the two boys.  
  
"Who's your friend?" she asked, studying Goten's figure.  
  
"This is Goten. He lives about two miles from here." Trunks said.  
  
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, looking at Trunks with question on her face.  
  
"Come here." He said, gesturing to Natalie. She walked over and stood about three feet from Trunks. "Now stand still." He said.  
  
"Okay..." she said with a slight smirk on her face. Trunks concentrated on her figure, and sensed her ki surrounding her body. But there was something different about it. Suddenly, Natalie sneezed and broke his concentration.   
  
"Sorry..." she said, sniffling. Goten looked at Trunks with a questionable expression on his face.  
  
"She's the one." He whispered into Goten's ear.  
  
"What are you guys taking about. Is it me?" Natalie asked, sitting on her chair.   
  
"Natalie, have you ever experienced any strange feelings, or done anything that a normal person wouldn't do?" Trunks asked her.   
  
"Well...I have been feeling really strange lately." She started. Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder and the power went out.  
  
"Oh no! A blackout!" she cried. The wind howled outside her window, making an eerie sound.   
  
"We should probably head back to Capsule Corp." Trunks suggested to Goten. "Natalie, we're going to take you back to my house, okay? There is a bad storm out there and I don't think we're safe here." He continued.  
  
"You're gonna go out in that? Why not wait until the storm passes?" she asked frantically.   
  
"Trust us." He said, and grabbed her by the hand, racing down the stairs.  
  
"Wait! Can't I just - " she was cut off when Goten forced the door open, causing wind and bullets of rain to enter into the house.   
  
"Ready?" he asked Natalie.   
  
"Ready for whaaaaaat!?" she cried, as Trunks grabbed her by the waist, and propelled them into the air, followed by Goten. She looked down at the ground, too terrified to move. The wind was blowing fiercely through the sky. There was debris blowing around everywhere.   
  
"Are you crazy!? What are you doing??" Natalie yelled over the noise of the storm. She screamed as a piece of debris cut her just below the left shoulder. Trunks and Goten sped up, streaking across the sky like a pair of comets. When they arrived at Capsule Corp., Trunks forced the door open and the two boys entered with Natalie. Goten slammed the door behind him.  
  
"What do you guys think you are doing?" Vegita asked, observing the three drenched teenagers in the foyer.   
  
"We just came from outside." Trunks replied.  
  
"I can see that." Vegita said in a sarcastic tone. He looked Natalie up and down. "Who's that" he asked, looking at her, and then back at Trunks.   
  
"This is Natalie. We have to get her arm bandaged." Trunks said, and then led her into the medical wing. While Natalie was washing her wound, Bulma popped her head in.   
  
"Oh, you poor dear. You're soaked!" She said. "I'll just go get you some dry clothes to put on." Bulma left the room, and then returned a few minutes later with some clothes. "Here, these used to belong to Trunks, but they're too small for him now." She said, and handed Natalie a black tank top and a billowy pair of navy blue cargo pants. Goten came in with Trunks, who was holding a bandage in his hand. He wrapped it around Natalie's small arm carefully. When he finished, she went to the bathroom to change clothes and dry her hair. Trunks and Goten went upstairs to his room to change clothes as well. Trunks just changed into the same outfit again, while Goten changed into an outfit that he had left there from a previous stay. They got changed and dry, and went downstairs to see how Natalie was doing. She came out of the bathroom, inspecting herself in Trunks' clothes. "Weird." She thought. "But comfy." Trunks and Goten walked in and facefaulted when they saw what Natalie was wearing.   
  
"Ha ha ha! You guys match!" Goten joked, as Trunks elbowed him in the stomach. Natalie looked up at the boys with a smirk on her face.   
"What do you think?" she asked, and lifted her arms up to present herself.   
  
"Hey Trunks, aren't those your clothes?" Vegita interjected with a weird look on his face as he appeared in the doorway.  
  
"They were." He replied.  
  
"Well your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready." He said, and then walked away.  
  
"Cool! Goten, wanna stay for dinner?" Trunks offered.  
  
"Uh, sure. But I already ate, so I'm not that hungry." He replied. The three teens walked into the kitchen and sat down to curried chicken with rice. The two saiyan boys finished their first helping before Natalie could put the chopsticks to her mouth.  
  
"Not hungry?" she asked, grinning, and proceeded to eat her rice. 


	4. Chapter 4

Trunks' Story  
  
Chapter 4 - Discovery  
  
After finishing their apple dumplings, the trio headed up to Trunks' room. The two boys sat on the bed, while Natalie sat on top of his desk.  
  
"What am I doing here? I just met you today, and already I'm wearing your clothes and sitting in your room!" Natalie commented.  
  
"Um..." Trunks started.  
  
"Oh well. I guess I have nowhere better to be. It's not like I'm going home anytime soon..." she trailed off. "So what were you guys talking about earlier today, anyway?" she inquired. Trunks and Goten had decided not to tell her about it right away.   
  
"Oh, nothing." Trunks said quickly. Natalie just rolled her eyes.   
  
"You guys, I'm really worried about my mom. Can I call the hospital?" she asked, reaching for Trunks' phone.   
  
"Sure." Natalie quickly dialed the number.   
  
"Room 316 please." She said into the phone. She sat and waited for a while, but hung up. "There's no answer." She said, with worry in her voice. Trunks glanced at the clock next to Natalie.  
  
"6:00. Time for training." Trunks said, standing up and stretching.   
  
"I guess I'll go too." Goten said, getting up as well.  
  
"Can I come?" Natalie asked.  
  
"I guess...if you really want to. I don't think dad will mind." He said, walking out of the room. He ran down the hall, followed by Natalie and Goten.   
  
"DAD!" Trunks called down the hall.  
  
"WHAT!?" Vegita answered from the first floor. The three ran down the two flights of stairs to the bottom, where Vegita stood.  
  
"Do you mind if Goten trains with us today?"   
  
"As long as he doesn't mind getting dirty, fine with me." He replied, crossing his arms once again.  
  
"Can Natalie watch us today?"  
  
"Her?" he asked, glancing over at the girl. "Do you think that allowing a human into the training area would be a GOOD idea?" he asked, looking back at the two boys.  
  
"I'll be fine." She said. Vegita didn't outburst, seeing that this was a week, human female.   
  
"I don't think that you should." Vegita said, keeping his temper under control. Bulma walked into the room.   
  
"Honey, give her a chance. If she says she'll be fine, she'll be fine." She said.  
  
"You humans are all the same! You think you're invincible." Vegita said, raising his voice.   
  
"It's not a big deal. I won't go..." Natalie said, turning around to walk away.  
  
"No, wait! You can come...just stay out of the way, ok?" Trunks said, grabbing her arm. Vegita started to comment, but Bulma shot him a glare. The four walked out into the training area, which was a huge room at least 100 meters long and 50 meters high. The floor was made out of artificial grass, and there was an artificial light source. In one corner, there was a gravity chamber.   
  
"Just sit here for now." Trunks said, and pulled up a chair. "Goten, I'm going with dad first, and then you and I go second." He said, pulling up another chair for his friend. Trunks and Vegita walked out in the middle of the floor, and began stretching their muscles in preparation.   
  
"So what are they doing?" Natalie asked Goten.   
  
"They're stretching. In a minute, things are going to get really exciting, you just wait." He said, smirking.   
  
"Dad, did you set the forcefield?" Trunks asked.  
  
"No, go set it." He replied. Trunks flew over next to the gravity chamber and punched a few buttons on a panel in the wall. Right after, a transparent wall of energy shot over the area where Natalie and Goten were sitting, startling them.  
  
"Don't worry, it'll keep you safe." He said, and flew back to Vegita.  
  
"Safe from what?" Natalie asked, confused.  
  
"Just watch." Goten repeated. Natalie sat and waited for them to finish their stretches. They stood up, bowing out of respect, and then standing up straight again. Vegita made the first move. He rushed at Trunks, who just dodged. Vegita spun around and sent his fist flying at Trunks' back, but Trunks blocked it with his arm and flipped Vegita over him. Trunks attempted to punch Vegita in the face, but was blocked and then kicked in the side. He retaliated by grabbing Vegita's leg and flipping him again. Vegita just used his hand to bounce back and charge at Trunks, who dodged and got a few punches in. All this was happening too fast for Natalie to follow, but she could sense where they were. She sat in amazement as the two saiyans battled. Soon, the ki blasts started. Any missed shots were absorbed into the walls.   
  
"Can you follow?" Goten asked.  
  
"Not really." She replied. Watching the fighting was beginning to excite her, and Goten noticed that her ki started to rise.   
  
"She has no idea of what she's doing." Goten thought to himself. Vegita noticed the increase in her ki also.   
  
"That girl over there..." Vegita started.  
  
"Natalie?" Trunks asked,  
  
"Yeah. Can she fight?" he continued.  
  
"Actually she can, why?"   
  
"Can you sense it?"  
  
"Sense what?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Her ki. It's rising." They continued fighting, exchanging blows every so often. After a while, they finished. Vegita commended his son. Trunks walked over and turned off the forcefield so that Goten could get up.  
  
"Goten! Your turn!" Trunks said. "I'm gonna take a break. You can go with dad."  
  
"Sure." Goten said, and joined Vegita on the battlefield. Trunks turned the forcefield back on and joined Natalie. He was sweating from the training.  
  
"So what did you think?" he asked, mopping his forehead with a cloth.  
  
"Where did you guys learn to fight like that!?" she asked, stunned.  
  
"Fighting comes naturally to saiyans." He replied, and then remembered that she didn't know what a saiyan was.  
  
"What's a saiyan?" she asked.   
  
"It's a race of beings. The only ones left are us three and five others." Trunks said, gesturing towards Goten and Vegita.   
  
"You mean, you aren't human?" she asked, looking into his eyes.  
  
"Well, I'm half human, half saiyan. My dad is a full blooded saiyan." He explained, and then went into the story of planet Vegita and it's destruction. When he was finished with that, he explained how his dad and Goku had come to earth.   
  
"Wow." That was all she could manage. "Is that why you can fly and manipulate energy as well?" she asked.   
  
"Yeah. Well, if you wanted, you could do that too." He said.  
  
"Huh? How, I'm just a normal human girl." She replied.  
  
"Actually, that's what I've been needing to tell you. Today when I stopped you in the street, I sensed a strong force radiating from your body. I used the scouter to make sure I was right. Sure enough, you aren't a normal human." Natalie's head was spinning. She had just met this boy today, and already he was telling her that she wasn't normal.   
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, you have an unusually strong ki. Something in your genetics has caused you to be this way." He explained.  
  
"Well how come I don't notice this?"   
  
"You have to be trained to control your ki, as well as how to sense others. If you want, I could show you."   
  
"I don't believe this." she said quietly. Trunks felt a strange feeling wash over him. Suddenly, Natalie remembered her mom.  
  
"Oh, I need to see if she's doing okay." she said, getting up quickly.  
  
"Well the storm hasn't calmed down, so you better just call for now." Trunks replied. Natalie got up and went back inside to use the phone. This time, a nurse answered the phone.  
  
"Hi, this Natalie Holmes. Is my mother doing okay?" she asked.  
  
"Well, your mother is still in critical condition. The doctors are debating on whether to operate or not. Would you like me to do get one for you?" the nurse asked.  
  
"No, no. It's okay." She answered, and then hung up the phone. She got tears in her eyes. Instead of going back out into the training area, she ran upstairs into Trunks' room. She fell onto the bed and started sobbing. A few minutes later, Trunks and Goten came up to check on her.  
  
"Natalie?" Goten asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. "What's going on?" Natalie didn't answer, instead, she just cried even harder.  
  
"Her mother is in the hospital in critical condition. She has nowhere to go." Trunks explained. Vegita was passing by and heard the commotion. He felt sorry for the human girl.   
  
"She can stay here for the night." He suggested to Trunks. The two boys turned around in shock.  
  
"Dad?" Trunks asked.  
  
"What?"   
  
"Care to repeat that?" he asked, just to make sure he wasn't hearing things.  
  
"You heard me. I said she can stay here for the night. She can sleep in the room next to yours." He said, and then left, walking down the hall. Bulma came upstairs, and tried to comfort Natalie.   
  
"I'll go prepare your room." She said, and left. Natalie sat up, wiping her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry guys. This is really hard for me right now. I don't feel very well." She said, feeling faint. She strained to see, but the blackness took over, and she fell to the ground. 


	5. Chapter 5

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 5 - Prophecy  
  
Natalie slowly opened her eyes. She could make out figures, but couldn't focus. She heard very faint voices speaking to her.  
  
"Natalie! Are you okay?"  
  
"Wake up, Natalie!"  
  
"Oh dear, she doesn't look too good."  
  
Soon, her senses came back to her, and she slowly sat up. She was in Trunks' bed, surrounded by everyone, including Bulma and Vegita. There was a damp cloth on her forehead, which slipped off when she sat up.  
  
"Natalie! Say something." Trunks said.  
  
"W-what happened?" she asked, looking around the room. "Did I pass out?"  
  
"Just calm down sweetie." Bulma said, putting the cloth back onto Natalie's forehead.   
  
"Is she okay?" Goten asked.  
  
"She's fine...let's all get out of here and let her get some rest. Her body is completely worn out." Bulma said, and escorted everyone out of the room. When everyone was gone, Natalie drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Natalie?" a soothing voice called out to her. "Natalie?" She floated through space. All she could see were stars, twinkling all around her. She had wings on her back that spread towards the heavens. "Natalie can you hear me?" the voice called out again.  
  
"I can hear you! Who are you?" she answered.  
  
"Natalie, it's time to show you."  
  
"Show me what!?" she asked frantically.  
  
"Come with me..." the voice said. Natalie felt herself being guided. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and she was standing up. She was wearing a gorgeous, flowing gown made of silk. She still had her wings. She looked around and saw columns and floors of marble. Suddenly, a light appeared in front of her. It began to take the form of a woman. She started to speak in a calm, soothing voice.  
  
"Natalie, my name is Melina. I am your mother." She said, finishing her forming. She was a tall, slender woman. She had golden brown hair that reached halfway down her back, and light blue eyes that sparkled in the starlight.  
  
"What?" Natalie asked, confused.  
  
"I know it seems confusing, but listen to me." She started. "Your name is Carina. You were born 15 years ago on a planet called Vela. Back then, your father and I were the king and queen of what you call the universe. We ruled, and were guided by the powers of the stars. When you were born, there was a threat to the kingdom. His name was Hesperos. He wanted to overthrow the kingdom and gain control of the universe. He also had an offspring, his name was Orion. Hesperos wanted you and Orion to be joined, to achieve the ultimate power and control over the universe. He came to Vela bringing terror and pain along with him. He killed thousands of our people, including your father. Left with no other choice, I called upon the power of our heritage, and tapped into the energy and everlasting life of the stars. I sent you to the most optimal planet I knew of. Earth. After you had been sent, I used the last of my strength to destroy Hesperos and rid our universe of his kind forever, killing myself in the process. Unfortunately, Orion had been frozen in a time capsule, where he would be freed to take his father's place." Melina paused for a moment. "He has been recovered, and has begun the journey to Earth to find you. He will stop at nothing to regain control of the universe. You must stop him from achieving his ultimate goal." She said, and then held out her hands to Natalie. "This represents our kingdom, and all that you stand for. It contains the very essence of the stars themselves. Only members of the royal family can use it. I have faith in you." She said, and lifted her hands. A small, round crystal appeared in her palms. It was pure white, with a golden star in the center, which gave off a brilliant light. Suddenly, the light became brighter, until all she could see was the star. Suddenly, it exploded into a million pieces and surrounded her body, absorbing into her. She felt warm all over, but very alive. She could feel its power embracing her body.  
  
"I love you Carina." The voice said, and then the light faded away and all that was left was black emptiness. Before she could scream, she awoke with a start. She looked around, and then remembered that she was at Capsule Corp. in Trunks' room. She tried to call out, but no sound came out of her mouth. She struggled to get up, but her muscles were extremely weak and could barely support her. She was about to give up, when Goten walked by.   
  
"Natalie?" he said, walking into the room. "Are you awake?" Natalie struggled to sit up, but failed after a couple of attempts. "I'll go get Bulma. You just wait here." He said, and rushed down the stairs, calling Bulma's name. A few minutes later, Bulma walked in with Trunks.   
  
"What's wrong with her?" Bulma asked, walking over by her side. As hard as she tried, Natalie couldn't make any noise whatsoever. She became so frustrated that tears began to flow down her face. "I think she's in a state of shock. We need to get her to the medical wing right away." Bulma said. Trunks lifted her limp body and carefully carried her down the stairs and into one of the rooms. Bulma worked quickly to take her vital signs. The heart monitor showed that her heart was beating rapidly, and her blood pressure was rising. Goten and Trunks stood helplessly as Natalie's condition worsened.   
  
"She won't stabilize! I need a tranquilizer syringe." Bulma said, searching frantically. Finally, she found it and shot Natalie with a heavy dose of tranquilizers. Her heartbeat slowed down to a steady pace and her blood pressure returned to normal. "Whew...that was close." Bulma said, relieved. She left the room, leaving Natalie on the bed barely conscious. Trunks and Goten walked over by her side.   
  
"What's up with her?" Goten asked.  
  
"I don't know...one minute she's fine, the next, she's passing out. I don't get it." Trunks replied. "Come on...let's go back up to my room." Trunks said, and went upstairs with his friend. Bulma and Vegita were in the living room, debating about something.   
  
  
::Somewhere out in space::  
A small pod, much the same design as a Saiyajin pod, shot through the empty void of space. Inside, there was a warrior in a state of suspended sleep, with an evil smile on his face. As the pod shot through space, there was an evil laughter echoing throughout the universe.   
  
  
Natalie woke up shaking. After a few minutes, her nerves calmed down and she sat up. She remembered the dream that she'd had earlier. She slid her legs off the bed and sat on the side, thinking.   
  
"What am I going to do now? What if that dream was REAL?" she thought, terrified of what might happen. She wished Trunks would come in and talk to her.   
  
Trunks and Goten sat upstairs and watched TV. Suddenly, something hit Trunks. His eyes widened, and he perked up.  
  
"What's the matter?" Goten asked, alarmed.  
  
"I have to get to Natalie." He said, running down the stairs. He ran into the medical wing, and into the room where Natalie sat.  
"Trunks?" she said, looking up.  
  
"Natalie! Are you okay? I had the strangest feeling, like you needed me to be here." Trunks said, leaning against the wall.  
  
"I do. You have to help me." She said, looking back at the floor.  
  
"What?" he asked with a worried look.  
  
"I had a dream. I think it was trying to tell me something." She said, and began to explain the dream to the two boys. When she had finished, they were sitting on the floor with bewildered looks on their faces.   
  
"Do you know for sure if this Orion guy is for real? And if he is, is he coming to Earth?" Goten asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I think we should try to find out, for all of our sakes." She said, getting off the hospital bed.  
  
"You shouldn't get up." Trunks said.  
  
"I'm fine. I don't know what came over me but I feel much better now." She said, slipping on a pair of Trunks' old shoes that she had been wearing earlier. "Come on...let's go get your parents." She said, walking out into the hallway. The trio made their way into the living quarters of Capsule Corp. When they found the couple, they were relaxing in the living room.   
  
"Mom? Dad? We have to talk." Trunks said, with a serious tone to his voice.   
  
"What is it?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Well, there's a problem." He started. "We think there may be a strong force on its way to earth."   
  
"What!?" Vegita asked, standing up. "You mean there's someone else? I thought we had finished everyone off!"   
  
"Well, no. We need to find out for sure, though."  
  
"Come on. I have just the thing." Bulma said, heading towards the science wing. She went into the lab, and plugged a device into a large generator.   
  
"This thing can detect powers like what you explained, up to 1 million light years away." She explained. It resembled some kind of large telescope, with a control panel on the side. Bulma looked into the display piece, and swiveled the telescope around until it locked on to something.  
  
"Hey guys I have something here..." she said. She pressed a few more buttons to display distance and speed. "It's approximately 3 light years away. At the speed it's traveling now..." she said, punching buttons on a calculator. "It should be here in about two months." She said.  
  
"What's the power level?" Vegita asked.  
  
"Hmm..." she said, punching a few more buttons. "WHAT!?" she shrieked. "It's too high for it to detect! It stopped at 999 million and was still growing before it short-circuited!" The group suddenly facefaulted.   
  
"What's it doing coming here?" Vegita asked frantically.  
  
"It's after me." Natalie blurted out. Bulma and Vegita looked at her in question. "Oh, I guess I need to explain. I had a vision." She started. She began to explain her prophetic dream once again. When she had finished, the group began to panic again.   
  
"We need to begin preparing right away!" Vegita said. "That means extra training for you two." He said, and glanced over at Trunks and Goten. Natalie piped in as well.  
  
"Can I train with you guys?" she asked innocently.  
  
"What? You think that you would actually stand a chance against someone with that kind of power?" Vegita said, trying not to laugh. Natalie had a serious look in her eyes, however.   
  
"I mean that." She said, crossing her arms, Vegita style.   
"We'll have to see about that. After all, you're just a weak human and I don't think you could possible build up endurance in two months time." He replied, and began to converse with Bulma. Despite all the panic in the air, the three teenagers walked out of the lab and back into the living quarters of Capsule Corp.  
  
"Two months! That's all we have to prepare!" Goten said, sighing.   
  
"We have to work especially hard. No slacking off this time." Trunks continued.   
  
"Was your dad being serious back there?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Well..." Trunks began.   
  
"You think I can do it, don't you?"   
  
"Sure, if you really set your mind on it." He replied. "Let's go upstairs. We have a busy day ahead of us." He said. Goten said his good-byes, and left to return to his house. Trunks and Natalie went up to their rooms and began to prepare for the days ahead. 


	6. Chapter 6

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 6 - Training  
  
Natalie brushed her straight, silky brown hair. She was reminiscing on the day's events, when there was a knock at her door.   
  
"Come in." she said, putting the brush down. Trunks entered with a bag.   
  
"I brought you some stuff." He said, handing her the sac. She emptied the contents onto the bed. There was shampoo, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a bar of soap, and some clothes to sleep in.  
  
"Thanks!" she said, putting the things away. "Trunks?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah?" he replied, looking up into her green eyes.  
  
"Thanks for all you've done for me today." She said. "It really means a lot to me."   
  
"No problem." He said. "Sleep well." He said, and then left, shutting the door softly behind him. Natalie finished brushing her hair and then pulled out her nightclothes, consisting of a white tank top and a pair of boxers, probably Trunks'. She slipped into the clothes, and then went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she had finished, she pulled back the covers on the bed.   
  
"I hope I'm doing the right thing." She thought to herself, as she settled into bed. She turned off the lamp next to hr bed, and allowed her thoughts to wander. Soon, she was fast asleep.  
  
  
The next morning, she awoke to the commotion coming from downstairs. She just flipped the covers over her head and attempted to go back to sleep. Suddenly, her door swung open and her covers were jerked off of her. She sat up, preparing to deliver a serious tongue lashing to the person who disturbed her sleep, when she came face to face with Vegita.   
  
"Could you explain your motive for interrupting my sleep?" she asked, sitting back away from his body.  
  
"You wanted to train, didn't you?" he asked with his arms crossed in the familiar fashion.   
  
"Well..." she broke off.  
  
"Then I suggest you get out of bed."  
  
"Just give me five more minutes..." she said groggily, settling back under the covers. Before she could take another breath, Vegita grabbed her by the back of her shirt, and carried the struggling girl downstairs. He placed her on a chair at the breakfast table, where Trunks was already pouring his cereal.   
  
"So he got you too, huh?" he asked the groggy teenage girl.   
"Uh-huh." She said, resting her head on the table. She glanced over at the clock. It was only 5:00 in the morning.  
  
"Well if you're gonna train with us, you'd better get used to this kind of treatment." Trunks said, taking a bite of his breakfast.  
  
"Yeah yeah." She mumbled. She decided to get some food into her stomach.   
  
"Do you guys have any orange juice?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. Before she could blink, Trunks' hand zipped across the table and grabbed a carton of juice that was out of her sight. "Uh...thanks." She said, pouring a glass. While she was sipping away, thinking about her dream, Vegita returned to the table and dropped a pile of clothing in front of her.   
  
"This is what you'll be wearing." He said, and then turned and walked away. Natalie got up and went upstairs to change. She examined the clothes when she reached her room.   
  
"A sports bra and exercise pants. Paris runways, here I come." She said sarcastically as she changed.   
  
"I heard that." Natalie was startled as she heard Trunks' voice from behind her. She was about to scream when she realized it was just an intercom.   
  
"Oh, god Trunks you scared me." She said, relieved.   
  
"I just wanted to let you know that we start in 15 minutes, so you should do some stretching."  
  
"Got it." She said, and walked out into the sitting room of her suite. She sat on the floor and spread her legs almost to a split, and then lowered her torso so that her chin reached just below her left knee, stretching her hamstrings. She alternated legs for a couple of minutes, and then began to stretch her arms. When she was finished, she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail, and walked out towards Trunks' room. She knocked on the door, and Trunks opened the door, wearing his traditional outfit, without the Capsule Corp. jacket. They both walked down the stairs towards the training room. Suddenly, Vegita stopped them.   
  
"We're going outside to train today." He grumbled.  
  
"But isn't it too wet from the previous night's storm?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Not if you can elevate."  
  
"But I - " before she could say more, he dashed downstairs and out the door. "Great." She said, rolling her eyes.   
  
"You just have to get used to him." Trunks said with a crooked smile on his face. Natalie rubbed her sore shoulder. Hopefully the wound would be healed in a couple of weeks. They both walked out into the damp backyard. The skies were still grey, and there was a cool breeze blowing. Natalie shivered.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll heat up." Trunks said. He ran out into the yard and shot into the air. He then did a somersault and landed on his feet.  
  
"Show-off!" she shouted across the field. She did a running cartwheel, followed by a series of somersaults and backflips. She finished on her feet, and blew a piece of hair out of her face. Vegita then entered the backyard and shouted for the two to come to him. He explained the "rules".  
  
"Since this girl is a beginner, and obviously not skilled in this type of training, I suggest you take it easy on her Trunks. And you, Natalie..." he said, turning to the girl, "You will have to work your ass off for a couple of weeks, until your body gets used to the work. Until then, I don't want to hear ANY complaining." He finished.  
  
"Uh - okay." She replied, looking rather frightened at the towering saiyan.   
  
"Come on, I'll show you how it's done." Trunks said, grabbing Natalie's waist and flying to a spot in the far end of the yard.   
  
"Okay. First, never take your eyes off the person who you're fighting with.   
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know all that stuff." She said. "Get to the good part." She said, getting into a fighting position. Trunks laughed to himself.  
  
"Okay, then show me what you know." He said, getting into position as well. The both bowed in respect. Then the fighting began. Trunks was quite amazed at her speed and agility.   
  
"You aren't bad." He said. "For a human."  
  
"Stop it! You sound like your dad." She giggled. The two continued to spar while Vegita watched from a distance.  
  
"Perhaps I was wrong about that human. She may need harder training than I estimated." He thought to himself.  
  
The two teens continued to fight. Natalie was getting in a few hits every now and then. Trunks was trying his best not to actually hit her, but rather to block her own attacks.   
  
"I think you can do better. You're holding back." She said with a smirk on her face. Trunks just laughed.   
  
"So you want more, huh?" he said, speeding up. Natalie retaliated and began to pick up the pace as well, but was struggling to stay as fast as Trunks. Occasionally, her ki would flare. "Where did you learn to fight like this?" he asked, dodging a blow to the face.  
"It just comes naturally." She replied casually.  
  
"That kind of ability doesn't come naturally to just anyone. There's something special about that girl." Trunks thought to himself.   
Meanwhile,  
  
  
Goten laid in bed, wide awake.   
  
"What am I doing awake? This is summer vacation! I'm supposed to be sleeping until noon!" he thought, as he rolled onto his back. He looked out the window and into the grey sky. He thought about Natalie, and the dream that she had. He also thought about the strong power on its way to earth.   
  
"Oh no. I need to train hard today. Ugh." He thought. He'd just sleep a little bit longer...  
  
  
Natalie's hand whizzed by Trunks' face. He dodged, and attempted to punch Natalie in the arm, but she dodged as well. Her ki flared again.   
  
"What's happening to me?" she thought as she dodged and attacked her opponent. "Is it because of that dream?" She suddenly began to get very tired. Trunks noticed that her moves were getting sloppier and she wasn't dodging his attacks very well.   
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah...I'm just a little sleepy." She replied. Her ki flared again, and her energy was restored. She began to attack with full force again.   
  
"Odd..." Vegita thought as he watched the two. 


	7. Chapter 7

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 7 - Progress  
  
Two weeks had passed. Natalie and Trunks continued to train together every day. Trunks and Vegita noticed how fast Natalie picked up on things. They had even showed her how to ki blast. Natalie continued to visit her mother, who was still in a coma, every other day. Since Natalie's school had let out for the summer, she stayed at Capsule Corp. most of the time, but occasionally she would return home. One particular day, Natalie had more energy than usual.   
  
Trunks shot a ki blast at Natalie, who easily dodged it and repeated with a blast of her own. They continued to fire at each other while Vegita trained in the gravity room. When he finished his training, he shut off the gravity and walked outside, calling the teenagers over.   
  
"It's time for you two to train in the gravity room. Natalie can start at two times normal gravity, and Trunks can start at one hundred.  
  
"Good god!" Natalie exclaimed. "One hundred G's?" she cried out. Bulma called the three in for lunch. Natalie watched as Trunks and Vegita inhaled the food that Bulma had prepared. "The pigs." She chuckled to herself as she ate. She had begun to grow rather fond of Trunks. She watched him as he ate. He brushed a piece of his purple hair out of his face. Natalie's mind began to wander, returning to the pit of despair in the back of her mind and her stomach began to churn. She had begun to get used to the feeling. Occasionally she would go into fits of panic and terror, but would recover almost immediately. Suddenly, Trunks snapped her out of the daze.  
  
"Natalie's coming with me, mom." He said. Natalie looked up at hearing her name.  
  
"What?" she inquired.  
  
"We're gonna go into the city today. Just to take a break from training." He replied. They finished their lunch and ran up the stairs to shower.   
  
"Just be back in time for gravity training." Vegita called after the two. Natalie called shower first, as usual. She turned on the water, while grabbing a towel from the linen closet. While Natalie was showering, Trunks called Goten.  
  
"Hello?" the boy answered into the phone.   
  
"Hey Goten it's me." Trunks answered.  
  
"Oh hey."  
  
"We're going into the city today, you wanna come?"  
  
"Nah I can't. My dad's making me train today." He said with disappointment in his voice.  
  
"Oh okay. Well see ya."  
  
"Bye." The two hung up the phones. Trunks looked out his window. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and a warm breeze blew throughout the land. Trunks took a deep breath.   
  
"FINISHED!" a shout came from the room next to his. He knew it was Natalie announcing the end of her shower. He jumped in his own and the warm water ran down his back. Meanwhile, Natalie slipped into a white strappy tank top with a pair of flare jeans and wrapped a towel around her wet hair. She picked up the phone to call the hospital, but heard buzzing and static instead of a dial tone. No more than 30 seconds later, a shout came from downstairs.  
  
"Who cut off my modem connection!?" Vegita yelled throughout the building. Natalie set the phone on the cradle and tiptoed into the bathroom.   
  
"Not me." She whispered to herself. She unwrapped the towel and combed her damp hair.  
  
"Natalie was is you?" Vegita shouted outside her door.   
  
"Heh heh. Oops." She said. Vegita grumbled and walked away. "Stupid human" he thought. Trunks shouted at his dad through the bathroom door.   
  
"I need some soap!"  
  
"Get it yourself, boy!" Vegita said, walking back downstairs. Trunks sighed to himself. This meant he would have to freeze while he searched for another bar of Dove. He wrapped a towel around his wet body and walked out towards the linen closet next to Natalie's room. Without thinking, she swung the door open to discover him struggling to keep the towel around his waist. She gasped in surprise and ran back into her room. Trunks shuffled back into the shower, completely red in the face.   
  
"Sorry..." Natalie's voice came in on Trunks' intercom.   
  
"Heh, don't worry about it." He replied. Natalie blow-dried her brown hair while Trunks put on some clothes. When the two were finished getting ready, they headed out the door for the afternoon. Natalie walked outside and inhaled the fresh air, stretching her arms above her head and exposing her midriff. Trunks playfully slapped her stomach.   
  
"Hey!" she laughed and jumped on his back. Intending to surprise her, he launched into the air. Natalie let out a yelp of surprise, and gripped his shoulders in fear. "Let me down! Let me down!" she laughed.   
  
"Sure." He said, dropping her from ten stories in the air. She fell towards the earth, screaming in terror. Just before she hit the ground, Trunks swooped down and grabbed her, setting her down.  
  
"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!" she yelled at him. His eyes widened and he muttered an apology, trying not to laugh.   
  
"You're beautiful when you're angry." He joked. She took a pitiful swing at him, but he just blocked it. "I'm just kidding, Nat. I'm sorry. Really." He said, still holding her wrist. "I should teach you how to fly."  
  
"Really?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.  
  
"I don't see why not. You have potential." He said. "It's simple, really. You just have to will your ki to life you off the ground and thrust you in whatever direction you want." Natalie thought it would be easy, and began to jump up into the air but would fall back to the ground almost immediately. Trunks laughed.  
  
"Well it's not quite like that." He said. "You kinda have to use your mind. Concentrate on moving through the air." Natalie stood in a semi-crouched position and concentrated. A gold aura appeared around her body.  
  
"Now think about moving through the air." He said, hovering a few feet away from her. Slowly, Natalie's figure began to lift. She looked upwards, with determination in her eyes, and shot up into the sky. Once there, the surprise of it all broke her concentration and she fell back to the ground. Trunks caught her easily.   
  
"Not bad. Just keep practicing." He said, taking her by the wrist, and raised both their arms to the sky. "Soon it'll be no trouble at all and you'll be able to do it with ease." He said, and dropped her hand back to her side.  
  
"I hope so. It's gonna come in handy." She said, thinking back on the dream she had. She wondered if why Orion was after her.   
  
"Stop thinking about that. We're supposed to have a carefree day, remember?" he said, looking at her with a grin on his face.  
  
"You have that look in your eyes..." she said, her eyes narrowing. Suddenly, Trunks grabbed her waist and propelled them both into the air. Natalie screamed with delight. Suddenly, Trunks dropped her again. This time, however, he didn't go after her. Her body froze, and her instincts took over, causing her to shoot back up to where Trunks was hovering. He grabbed her arm and the aura around her body disappeared again.  
  
"I knew that would work." He said.  
  
"Wow! I just did that!" she said with excitement in her voice. "But don't EVER do that again, understand!?" She shouted. She continued to practice, and eventually got the hang of it, but wasn't able to match Trunks' speed quite yet.  
  
"Come on, let's walk from here on." She said, lowering herself to the ground. She ran down the sidewalk with Trunks in pursuit. Soon they reached the city and slowed to a walk. They looked around at all the shops and stores amongst them. Natalie was enjoying the scenery with Trunks by her side.  
  
"Well, well. If it isn't Natalie." Natalie spun around to see a girl her age standing with her hands on her hips. She had wavy black hair that fell halfway down her back.   
  
"What do you want, Akari?" she asked, rolling her eyes.   
  
"I thought you were too sick to go anywhere, and suddenly you're running around the town?" she asked with a stuck up voice. "And who might this be?" she asked, looking Trunks up and down.   
  
"This is Trunks." She said, grabbing his arm. "My boyfriend." Trunks played along.   
  
"Yep. We're together!" he said, placing his arm around her shoulder. Natalie gave her the look that said it all.  
  
"Hah. I don't see what the big deal is anyway. He's not that great." She huffed, and walked down the sidewalk with her hands on her hips. Trunks and Natalie held in their laughter until she was out of earshot, and then exploded into a fit of giggles.  
  
"What an idiot." Trunks whooped out. Natalie continued to laugh as they both walked into the city on the bright summer day.   
  
  
"Kamehameha!" Goten shouted as the enormous blast of raw energy erupted from his hands. Goku blocked the attack with a ki shield for all his worth. When the dust cleared, Goten stood a few feet above the ground breathing heavily. Goku was seen with his hands still out in position with singe marks on his clothes.  
  
"Great job son! You're improving!" he said cheerfully.   
  
"Thanks. That was all I could take for right now." He said, and lowered himself to the ground. He began to walk towards his home.  
  
"Wait. We're not finished yet." Goku said, chasing after his teenage son. "You still have to do your cool-down stretches."  
  
"Come on, dad. Give me a break." He said, slowing his pace and shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"You heard me. Now come on, it isn't that bad." Goku said and hopped onto his right hand in position for one-arm pushups. Goten rolled his eyes and joined in.   
  
"One...two...three..." Goku started as the two saiyans exercised in the large field while the sun began to set and a cooling breeze blew across the plain.   
  
  
Meanwhile, in the city, Natalie and Trunks passed the hospital. Natalie made a turn to go in and see her mom.   
  
"Do you want me to come along?" Trunks asked, his arms full of bags.   
  
"Yeah." She said, and they entered the lobby. They went up the elevator and down the hall to room 316. As she opened the door, a nurse rushed by her into the room.   
  
"I need a doctor in here, now!" the nurse yelled. They could hear machines beeping as they stood in shock outside the door. Natalie cautiously cracked the door and took a few steps in. The young nurse turned her head around.   
  
"What are you two doing here?" she snapped at them.  
  
"W-we're relatives." She stuttered.  
  
"She can't be bothered, ma'am. Come back later, please." The nurse continued.  
  
"But this is my mom. I have to see her!" Natalie said, stepping forward, but was restrained by Trunks' arm.   
  
"She's very unstable. We can't have visitors at this time, now please leave!" she shouted at the quivering girl. Trunks escorted her outside the dark room and onto a bench down the hall.   
  
"What are they doing to her? Why can't I see her?" Natalie asked in a panic.   
  
"Everything's fine. Just stay calm." Trunks reassured her. A team of doctors rushed by and ran into the room where her mother was being held. She could hear them yelling commands at the nurses. When all the noises and commotion quieted down, a doctor about Trunks' height emerged from the room very slowly. When his eyes met with Natalie's, his head dropped. When he looked back into her fearful eyes, he knew what he had to do.  
  
"Are you Miss Natalie Holmes?" he asked, cautiously stepping closer.  
  
"Y-yes. Yes I am." She said.  
  
"Your mom - " he started.  
  
"What?" she asked frantically. "What happened to her? She's fine now, right?" she began to shout.   
  
"She's - " the doctor broke off once again.  
  
"She's WHAT!?" Natalie said, grabbing hold of the doctor's jacket, but was restrained by Trunks.  
  
"She has passed away." He said, and closed his eyes. Natalie's body went numb, and instead of screaming, she just went limp in Trunks' arms, but remained conscious.   
  
"I think she's in shock. We need to admit her to a room where we can monitor her." The doctor said, reaching for the girl.   
  
"No. She'll be fine." Trunks reassured the doctor.  
  
"Sir, I think she had better stay here." The doctor pressed on. Trunks grabbed her limp body and charged up. Before the doctor could even blink, Trunks was down the hall and out the door. He raced through the skies, holding Natalie in his arms. Just before he reached Capsule Corp., Natalie snapped out of her daze and jumped from Trunks' arms.  
  
"Natalie!" Trunks called after her. But instead of falling, she remained in the air, her ki flaring a brilliant blue fire. Her fists clenched, tears began to stream down her face.   
  
"Come on. Let's go home." Trunks said and reached for her.  
  
"I don't have a home. I am no longer wanted!" she screamed. "Nobody loves me!"   
  
"Natalie calm down!" he said. Natalie's ki began to grow to extreme heights.   
  
"NO! Just leave me!" she cried, and shot through the air in a vertical line. She continued to stream into the sky. Trunks went after her.   
  
"Come back to Capsule Corp." He tried to persuade her. She just put her arm in front of her and continued on, the wind whipping through her hair. Seeing that this wouldn't work, Trunks grabbed her arm. She turned at him with menacing eyes and sent a blast through her arm that connected with his body. The force was so powerful that it knocked him back. Electricity surged throughout her body and her ki flared again. Seeing no other way out, Trunks faded out, and before she could react, he reappeared behind her and knocked her out. He grabbed her falling body and flew down to Capsule Corp.  
  
"Dad!" he shouted, rushing into the front door. "Dad!" Vegita appeared in front of him with his arms crossed. When he felt Natalie's ki, he jumped.  
  
"What the - " he said, his eyes wide.   
  
"Dad we need to get her to the medical wing, fast!" he said. Natalie began stirring. Wasting no time, they ran through the building. When they reached a hospital-like room, Trunks laid her down on the bed and Vegita put a restraining device on her temples that sent a beam across her forehead. It sent subliminal messages into her brain that calmed her nerves and helped her to rationalize. When she came to, her eyes opened slowly and she looked up at Trunks with confused eyes.  
  
"Where's mom?" Trunks asked his dad.   
  
"She's tending to your sister on the other side of the building. She's not feeling very well." He said, concentrating on the young girl's ki. He was amazed at the amount of power that she had, and frustrated that he hadn't noticed it earlier.   
  
"Is she going to be okay?" Trunks asked.   
  
"She'll feel groggy for a while, but after that she should be fine." He said, and then left the room, pondering his next plan of action. Trunks stroked her hair with his left hand. Natalie came to her senses and sat up, placing her hand over her forehead.   
  
"W-was I dreaming?" she asked, her voice on her verge of breaking down. Trunks just shook his head. Natalie hung her head and tears began to fall once more. Trunks felt badly for her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, her legs shaking. Vegita returned to the room where she stood.   
  
"It's time for gravity training." He said to Trunks.  
  
"What? She can barely walk, let alone train under multiple forces of gravity!" Trunks said.   
  
"You heard me." He said, and turned to walk out towards the gravity room. 


	8. Chapter 8

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 8 - Changes   
  
  
Natalie and Trunks were suited up in their training clothes and were preparing to undergo gravity training. Vegita opened the door to the main gravity room, where he began to set the controls for Trunks' training. Then, he opened a second door from inside the first room, which led to a second gravity room. There was a thick glass window in the door, so they could see each other. Vegita stepped into the second room with Natalie, and explained the controls to her as he set them for two times Earth's gravity. When he was finished, he walked out of the two rooms and pressed the "Begin" button on the outside. There, he could monitor their progress through a series of cameras located all over the inside of the structure. As soon as the gravity doubled, Natalie could feel the change instantly.   
  
"This isn't so bad." She thought, as she did a series of sit-ups. However, when she was on her third set of push-ups, she began to feel the effects of the gravity increase. Suddenly, Vegita's voice came through on an intercom, and his face appeared on a screen on the wall.   
  
"It's time to train." He said, and pressed another button. Then, two small robots came out of a sliding door in Natalie's chamber and powered on. "You must destroy these in order to proceed to the next level." He said, and then shut off the talk-screen. Natalie began to prepare herself for the battle. She powered up just enough to shoot ki blasts. The robots began to shoot electric beams out of their eyes, which Natalie either dodged or reflected.  
  
"Hyaaa!" she shouted as she shot a blast at one robot, destroying it, leaving only a pile of scorched scrap metal in it's place. The second robot retaliated and doubled its energy output. Natalie easily dodged the attacks, but was beginning to tire. As the robot continued to pour out more and more energy, Natalie was having difficulty keeping up under the increase of gravity. When she thought that she could no longer take the pain, her ki flared and formed a shield around her body. Her hair and clothes began to rise from the enormous increase in power. She closed her eyes and brought her left hand above her head.   
  
"Akiyah..." she said, as blue energy surged through her arm to her hand. Suddenly, she clenched her fist and screamed, "...Meh!" and brought her hand down, aiming her attack at the robot. The energy slammed into it and vaporized it instantly, leaving no evidence that anything was even there, aside from the burn marks. All of the sudden, Natalie's ki powered down and she returned to a normal state.  
"Where did that come from!?" she said, looking down at her hands. She turned and looked through the window that connected the two gravity rooms together and observed Trunks looking at her with a surprised expression on his face. Vegita was standing outside the rooms looking at a control panel, observing Natalie's energy levels. He came in on the talk-screen in her chamber.  
  
"Well done. Now it's time for the next level. I'm increasing your gravity to three times." He said, and increased the gravity, which Natalie could feel.  
  
"Please..." she said. "Let me take a break. I'm too worn out to continue."   
  
"That's why you train like this, no that next time you won't be worn out. Now go!" he said, and switched off the screen.  
  
"Jerk." She muttered under her breath, and sat down, stretching her muscles.   
  
Trunks was training under one-hundred times normal gravity, and he was fighting five of the same robots that Natalie had previously destroyed, with the exception that these were much more powerful.   
  
"Kamehameha!" he shouted, and blasted one of the robots. It shielded itself for the most part, and came back for more. "Guess I'll have to use brute force." He said, and shot at the bots with amazing speed, fists first. "Hyaaa!" he said as he punched the robots. He destroyed one and badly damaged another, which he took out with a ki blast. "Two down, three to go." He said, rubbing his hands together. He battled the droids as Natalie prepared for her second round of robot destroying. She was doing a series of sit-ups, when the door opened in the side and three robots appeared. She gathered her strength and stood to face them. One began to power up and fired a blast, but she shielded herself with her hands and reflected the attack right back at it.   
  
"Hah!" she shouted, and blasted the already damaged robot. It blew up and charred bits of metal flew everywhere. She began to attack the second one physically, taking it down with one swoop of her leg, and then beating it over the head with her fists. She grabbed the neck of the machine and pulled up, ripping the head off, and then destroying the remains. Trunks watched in awe of her amazing agility and speed.   
  
"She could pass as a saiyan." He thought.   
  
Natalie blasted the third droid, but it reflected the attack and sent it flying back in her direction, which she blocked with another blast. She flew at it and kicked it in the back of the head, sending it hurling to the other side of the gravity chamber. As it began to get up, she stomped on it's head, causing it to mal-function and then sent a ki blast at it.   
  
"Take that you piece of scrap metal." She said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She was hot, so she removed her tank top, and was left in her sports bra and gym shorts. She pressed a button on the control panel, and Vegita's face appeared on the talk-screen.  
  
"Can I please take a break?" she begged, mopping her forehead with her shirt.   
  
"Fine, but make it quick." He said, and informed Trunks so that she could pass through his chamber without getting hurt. She walked through the sliding door and reached Trunks, who was sweating profusely. She tossed him her shirt, and then left the room, grabbing a bottle of water out of Vegita's hands.   
  
"Thanks." She said, taking in a gulp. Vegita just grumbled. Trunks wiped the sweat off of his body with Natalie's shirt. He noticed that it smelled like her, fragrant but fresh.   
  
"Dad, can I take a break as well?" he asked, poking his head outside where Vegita and Natalie stood.  
  
"Fine." He said, and allowed him to pass. Trunks and Natalie sat on the ground with their backs against the building, sharing a bottle of water between them. When the bottle was passed back to Natalie, she finished it off, just to annoy Trunks.   
  
"Hey! Thanks for leaving me some!" he laughed and grabbed the bottle from her hands, running inside to refill it. When he returned, he had packages of rice crackers for them to eat.   
  
"Thanks." She said, taking a package and ripping open, devouring the contents. Vegita looked at his watch.   
  
"It's 6:45. I guess we can call it a day." He said, and switched off the gravity chambers. The three headed back into Capsule Corp. to shower and get ready for dinner. Natalie called the shower first again, and hopped in before Trunks or Vegita could even protest. But while she was in, they hatched an evil scheme. They turned on the other showers in the house to "hot", causing Natalie's water to run cold. They soon heard an ear splitting shriek from upstairs, signaling that their plan had worked. They both laughed at her fate, while Bulma walked into the sitting room with an apron on.   
  
"Oh, so you think that's funny, huh?" she said to Vegita.  
  
"Uh...well..." he sputtered.   
  
"Fine. Since you don't seem to be busy, why don't you help me with dinner." She said, grabbing him by the ears and dragging him into the kitchen. Trunks watched while Bulma dragged his helpless father into the cooking room and forced him to stir the rice.  
  
"What are you staring at!?" she shouted at Trunks. "You're helping too!" she said, and grabbed him by the arm. Soon, dinner was prepared, and the three fighters had been showered. Natalie kept glaring at Trunks across the table, while he tried his best not to make eye contact with her. When they had finished, Trunks and Vegita began to get up from the table, but were stopped by Bulma.  
  
"Where do you think you're going? You still have to do the dishes!" she said, and got up from the table. Natalie got up as well, shooting Trunks and Vegita a look that told them she didn't pity them. Natalie walked up the stairs while Trunks and Vegita argued about which dish detergent to use. Tem minutes later, when they had finished, Trunks walked upstairs towards his room, passing Natalie's on the way. She had her door open, and Trunks peeked in. She was lying on the bed on top of the covers, obviously exhausted from the day's events. Intending to get back at her, he ran in and jumped on the bed, startling the girl. She inhaled sharply, and was about to let out a scream, when Trunks covered her mouth and eyes with his hands.   
  
"Guess who?" he asked. A muffled sound came from her mouth. "What was that? I can't hear you!" he teased, and the sound was heard again. Suddenly, Natalie bit his hand as hard as she could, causing Trunks to jump back.  
  
"Ow!" he said, holding his hand.   
  
"That's what you get for scaring the life out of me!" she said angrily.   
  
"Oh I don't know, you look alive to me." He joked. Natalie sighed with disgust, and narrowed her eyes, looking at Trunks with an evil glare on her face. Without warning, she pounced on him, forcing him onto his back. When she had him pinned, she chuckled to herself.  
  
"Heh. Weakling." She said, her face inches away from his.  
  
"Weakling, huh?" he said. "I'll show you!" He jumped up with amazing speed, and before she could react, he had her on her back, with her arms pinned to the bed. "Who's the weakling, now?" he said with a playful smirk on his face. Natalie leaned up and planted a playful peck on his cheek. Trunks' eyes went big and Natalie got a serious look in her eyes.   
  
"Trunks! Natalie!" Bulma called from downstairs. They both jumped away from each other immediately.   
  
"Oh...heh heh. I g-guess I'll go see what mom wants." Trunks said, turning bright red.   
  
"Trunks!" Bulma said, walking into the room, almost smacking straight into Trunks. "What's going on here?" she asked, observing the two teenagers.  
  
"Nothing!" Natalie said, sitting up. "We're fine!" she reassured.   
  
"Okay...well I just wanted to tell you that I made apple pie. Feel free to have some." She said, and walked out of the room. Natalie stood up and made her way out of the room, bumping into Trunks on the way.  
  
"Sorry!" she said quickly, and left nervously to go downstairs. The two teens ate slices of apple pie while Bulma and Vegita were upstairs in bed.   
  
"Good pie." Natalie said quietly.  
  
"Yeah." Trunks said. Neither of the two looked at each other.   
  
"Oh Trunks this is so stupid!" Natalie said, frustrated. Trunks looked up with crumbs on his face. Natalie began to giggle at the sight. She flicked a piece of pie at his face.   
  
"Hey!" Trunks said, and did the same, smacking it right onto her chin. The both laughed and threw pie at each other until there was no more on their plates. They both cleaned up and ran upstairs to wash the sticky pie off their faces. When they had finished, Trunks wandered into Natalie's room, where she was lying on the bed with no lights on, looking out the window at the stars.   
  
"Hey." He said, lying on the bed next to her.   
  
"Hi." She replied softly. Her eyes were halfway closed.   
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.   
  
"Oh, I don't know...I'm just afraid."  
  
"Of what?" he asked, scooting closer to her.   
  
"Of him." She said. Trunks knew that she was talking about Orion.   
  
"Don't worry. I won't let him take you." He said, running his hand through her soft brown hair. Natalie rested her head next to his chest, and they both lay on their backs, gazing out the window at the stars above.   
  
"They're pretty, aren't they?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah..." Trunks replied. Natalie looked up at the heavens, letting the light of the stars embrace her soul. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep in Trunks' arms. Trunks watched her as she slept, stroking her cheek. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, and then drifted off to sleep under the stars. 


	9. Chapter 9

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 9 - Nightmares  
  
  
Natalie sat alone in her room. She could hear the pitter patter of rain on the roof of Capsule Corp. The grey skies were somehow soothing to her. A breeze came out of nowhere and blew through her hair. She felt so relaxed and calm. Just as she looked out at the grey sky, a clap of thunder sounded in the distance, and the skies began to grow darker. The wind picked up, and the rain fell harder. Soon, the skies were black, and Natalie's room was so dark, that she could barely see. Suddenly, an evil laughter echoed through her brain.   
  
"Who are you? What's going on!?" she shouted as the wind blew debris all around the building.   
  
"Do you not know who I am, dear princess?" the voice said. She began to get up to run, but the bed fell from underneath her. The floor dissolved and there was nothing left but a black void. She floated around, trying to gain a sense of direction, when a giant hand reached out for her. Her clothes were transformed into a long, flowing gown with white wings on her back.   
  
"Stay away from me!" she screamed in terror. The laughter just persisted, ringing through her skull. She grasped her head and began to shake. The hand reached and grasped her body, closing in on her. Before she could scream, it closed and she was in total blackness.   
  
"You're mine, princess." The voice laughed. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her body was paralyzed.  
  
"Someone help me!" she screamed in her mind, but nobody could hear her cries. She reached out for Trunks, but there was no one there. She could feel strong arms around her. She was trapped. Just as she thought her body was going to explode, she jumped and woke up in her bed, breathing heavily.   
  
"Natalie, it's okay." Trunks said. "You were having a nightmare." He said. She could feel his arms around her. Before she could say anything, her body gave way and she slipped into a deep sleep. Trunks looked at her with worry on his face. He knew that her dream was a vision of things to come. He closed his eyes, and relaxed.  
  
The next morning, Trunks and Natalie slept on the bed. His arms were around her, and her head was rested on his chest. Vegita walked by the room, wondering why the two hadn't gotten out of bed. He opened the door to Natalie's room, and facefaulted when he saw the two dozing on the bed. He walked over and grabbed Natalie by the back of her shirt, placing her on the floor.   
  
"What the - " she said groggily, trying to focus on Vegita's form.   
  
"GET UP!" Vegita yelled in Trunks' ear. The teenage boy jumped off the bed, and fell onto the floor, rubbing his eyes. "What do you two think you are doing?" he said angrily. "Get off the floor, girl." He said, picking her up, forcing her to stand on her feet. "For this, you two are going to work extra today. No breaks." He said, and carried them downstairs to the sitting room, and literally threw them onto the sofa. They were still dressed in the same clothes from the previous night. While they sat and tried to gather their senses, Vegita tossed them each a package of crackers.  
  
"There's your breakfast. Training begins in 15 minutes." He said, and stomped up the stairs.   
  
"Gourmet." Natalie said, opening her crackers.   
  
"Only the best for us." Trunks joked back.   
  
"Sorry about last night." She said, looking down at her wrapper.  
  
"What about?" he asked.  
  
"Waking you up, fighting like that. That dream just seemed so real..." she trailed off. "I don't know what the matter is."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it was just a random thing." He lied, just to comfort her. They ate their rice crackers on the sofa and talked, until it was time to train. Vegita walked down the stairs, dressed in basically the same thing as Trunks.   
  
"We're going to begin in the gravity chamber." He said, and then looked at Natalie. "You'll start off with five times gravity." He said, and then looked over at Trunks. "And you will start with one hundred and twenty five." Natalie facefaulted. "And there will be absolutely NO complaining." He finished, and walked out to the gravity building. Trunks and Natalie dragged their lethargic bodies out the door and followed Vegita. Natalie's muscles were sore from yesterday, and the new increase of gravity wouldn't help it.   
  
"Trunks, you get chamber one, Natalie gets chamber two." He said, and began to set the controls for training. Natalie shuffled into the room and shut the door behind her. She sat on the cold metal floor and began to do warm-up stretches. She began sit-ups and push-ups, when a hologram appeared in the middle of the room. She looked up at it. It was a young female, Natalie estimated around 20, with black hair and blue eyes. She was quite built, and was wearing a sports bra and jogging shorts. Vegita's face came in on the talk-screen.   
  
"This is Tora. You will be sparring with her today instead of the robots you have fought previously." He said, and the screen fizzled out. Natalie turned back to the hologram. She was at least six feet tall. Tora took on a fighting stance, and Natalie did the same. For a few seconds, they looked at each other, waiting for one to make the first move. Suddenly, Tora came at Natalie with her right fist out. Natalie easily dodged it and swooped around the back of her, attempting to kick her ankles to bring her down. Tora leapt into the air and did a roundhouse kick at Natalie's face. Natalie ducked and attempted to send a painful uppercut to Tora's jaw. Tora moved her head out of the way and grabbed Natalie's wrist, twisting her arm. Natalie let out a yelp, but kicked Tora in the shin, causing her to lose her grip. Natalie sent a ki blast flying, but Tora counter-attacked with one of her own. Natalie dodged it and brought her fists together, bringing them down on Tora's back. Tora let out a scream and fell forward. Natalie blurred out of sight, and reappeared in front of Tora's form, bringing her foot around to Tora's ankles, trying to bring her down, but Tora jumped up and punched Natalie in the jaw. Natalie winced in pain, but didn't fall over. She placed her fingers on her forehead and gathered energy, sending it flying towards Tora's chest. It slammed into the hologram, sending her flying backward into the wall. Natalie flew forward with her left fist out, attempting to punch Tora in the face, but she dodged it and Natalie punched the wall instead. She let out a scream and grasped her hand. Tora sent a ki blast flying into Natalie's back before she could dodge it, causing Natalie to slam into the wall. The effects of the gravity were beginning to take their toll on her body. She fell to the ground in a heap, and just as Tora was about to finish her off, Trunks interjected and slammed his fist into Tora's back, sending her flying across the room. Natalie lifted her head in surprise to see Trunks standing over her.   
  
"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching his hand out to help her up. Suddenly, Trunks was sent flying into the wall next to Natalie, where he was knocked unconscious. She looked up to see Tora finishing off a ki blast. Natalie was outraged. She stood up, her hair rising off her head. Tora began to charge another ki blast. Natalie's ki began to flare again, as a result of her anger. Tora fired her ki blast, which bounced harmlessly off Natalie's ki shield. Natalie brought her hands down to her sides and began to charge up. Tora looked on in fear and began to fire multiple ki blasts at the girl, all which bounced back just as the ones before it. Natalie's hands began to glow red and gathered energy from all around.   
  
"Akiyah-Meh!" she screamed and shot an enormous blast of blue and yellow energy towards the hologram. The energy surrounded Tora's body as she twisted in pain. She let out a final scream before she exploded into a million different points of light, which fell to the ground like glittery dust. Natalie, her body exhausted from the attack, fell on top of Trunks' unconscious body and fainted.   
  
Vegita watched as beams of light erupted from the gravity chamber, and then died down. He checked the status of the hologram, and realized that it had been destroyed.  
  
"What!?" he said out loud. "How could she possibly - " he broke off. He walked into the chamber where the two lay unconscious on the floor. He picked them up and then threw them on the ground outside the chamber.   
  
"Wake up." He said, kicking them in the side. Nobody stirred. He picked Natalie up by the arms and shook her to wake her up.   
  
"Wake up girl!" he said, shaking her repeatedly. "We have to do something about this." He said, throwing her back onto the ground. He sent a small ki blast into Trunks to bring him back to consciousness. He woke up with a pounding headache.   
  
"Whoa..." he said, holding his head in his hands. He looked over at the unconscious girl, and checked her heart rate. "She is dangerously low on energy. She needs some more, and fast." He said. He held his hand to her forehead, and his body began to glow. He donated some of his ki to the girl, bringing her back to consciousness.   
  
"Trunks?" she said, looking up at him.   
  
"Natalie!" he said, hugging the girl. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, thanks to you." She said, looking into his eyes.  
  
"Yeah enough with the little reunion. You two have more training to do." Vegita said, breaking up the silence.   
  
"Are you crazy!? You have been pushing us over the limit!" Trunks said, standing up to face his father. "Look at what just happened to us!"  
  
"Don't talk back to me, boy." Vegita said, stepping closer with a menacing look in his eyes. "If I say you'll train more, you will. Do you hear me?"  
  
"Well at least let Natalie sit this one out. She needs some rest." Trunks said.   
  
"She has been rested enough. If we keep giving her breaks whenever her body gets the least bit fatigued, she won't gain anything!" he said, and began to set the controls for more training.  
  
"Dad, give us a break for once! She just maxed out her power!" Trunks argued back. Vegita turned around and backhanded his son by instinct. Natalie jumped back in fear.  
  
"Don't EVER talk that way to me again." Vegita said. Trunks glared angrily at his father. Natalie was confused and frightened. She didn't know what to do, so she took off into the sky, heading back for her house.  
  
"Natalie!" Trunks called out to her. He shot into the air after her, followed by Vegita.   
  
"Come back here Trunks. I'll get her myself." Vegita said, pushing his son back. Trunks began to object, but retained himself and backed off. He hoped that Vegita would handle things in a calm manner.  
  
Natalie sped through the sky, leaving a trail behind her. Vegita increased his speed to catch up with the girl. She just fled faster, with Vegita pursuing close from behind. She feared for her safety, and she didn't want to be the victim of Vegita's short temper ever again. She pushed her tired muscles further, and they burned in protest. Her ki was already low, and using all this energy wasn't doing her any good.   
  
Trunks sat inside Capsule Corp., sensing out the two ki's in the distance. Bulma walked into the room where Trunks was sitting.  
  
"Where's your father?" she asked.   
  
"Oh, he went out for a while." He lied. "Natalie went back to her house."  
  
"Well when you see him again, tell him I need to talk to him. It's about Natalie." She said, with worry in her voice.  
  
"What? Tell me." Trunks pleaded.  
  
"Remember her telling us about Orion?" Bulma said.  
  
"Yeah?" Trunks replied, beginning to worry as well.  
  
"He arrives in five days." 


	10. Chapter 10

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 10 - Pain  
  
  
Natalie shot through the air like a rocket, getting closer to her house. She could see it in the distance. Tears began to fall down her face. This is where she used to live. Now her mom was gone, and she had nowhere else to go. She flew to the door and opened it cautiously, closing it softly behind her. She walked up the stairs and went into her room. The yellow paint and cheery sunflowers reminded her of all the fun times she had spent in the house. She walked over to the mirror, and stared into the reflection. What had she become? She sat on her bed, sobbing quietly in the dark room, when she heard a noise downstairs. At first she didn't acknowledge it, but when she heard it again, her head snapped up. She was about to jump up to investigate, when Vegita entered her room. She jumped back.  
  
"You jerk." She said, glaring at him with hate in her eyes.  
  
"What did you call me?" he said angrily.  
  
"You heard me! Just go home and train, and leave me out of this." She said, clenching her fists tightly.  
  
"Fine, if that's what you want, so be it." Vegita said, and began to leave. Natalie dropped her head again. Vegita paused in the doorway and looked back at Natalie.   
  
"You know, if you don't come back, Trunks will miss you." He said.  
  
"I don't care." She lied. She really didn't want to leave him, but she had no other choice. She didn't want to be a part of the family any longer.  
  
"I'll tell him your thoughts on that subject, then." He said, walking out the door and down the stairs. Natalie looked up, to make sure he had really left.   
  
"It figures." She muttered to herself. "Why me?" she thought bitterly. "What did I do to deserve this?" Her mother had died, some alien was after her, Vegita hated her, and she wasn't even from earth. All she wanted was her old life back. But did she? After all, she would have never met Trunks, she would have never discovered her hidden power, and she might not have stood a chance against Orion in the first place. She was so confused. Her muscles ached from the previous training and pushing her power to the maximum level. She was so tired; she lay down on the bed to let her thoughts wander.  
  
  
Trunks sat in a state of shock.  
  
"Five days?" he asked frantically. Five days were all they had left to prepare. They wouldn't be able to get any rest. Suddenly, Vegita appeared in the back door.   
  
"Where's Natalie?" Trunks asked.  
  
"She refused to come back." He said, walking in the door and slamming it behind him.   
  
"Dad, we need to tell you something." Trunks said wearily.  
  
"What?" Vegita said with spite in his voice.  
  
"Uh..." Trunks began, but Bulma interjected.  
  
"Honey, we need you to remain calm, no matter what we say, okay?" she said softly.  
  
"Alright already. What is it!?" he asked impatiently.  
  
"Well you have five days left to prepare for the arrival of Orion." She said. It was done. The two prepared for Vegita's outburst, but were surprised by his response.  
  
"Okay. We'll have to work harder then." He said plainly, and walked up the stairs. Trunks and Bulma stared in disbelief at him as he calmly walked towards the bedroom.  
  
"Well that was easy." Trunks commented. Bulma let out a relieved sigh. They slumped back onto the sofa, when they heard a shout from upstairs.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?"  
  
  
Natalie was lying on her bed, half-asleep, when another headache slammed into her brain. She grasped her head in pain, making whimpering noises.   
  
"Stop doing this to me!" She shouted.   
  
"Why, I find it amusing." A voice replied, echoing through her head. Natalie sat up in shock.  
  
"W-what?" she asked in a whisper.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you." The male voice laughed mockingly. Natalie sat in the darkness with a frightened look on her face. Her head began to throb again, causing her to double over in pain. She was sure that she would pass out, when the pain stopped. She slumped onto the bed, her body fatigued and her mind racing. The evil laugh reverberated through her skull. She would go mad if she sat there any longer. With nothing else left to do, she opened the window and jumped out, propelling herself through the ominous skies. She flew to Capsule Corp., and peered through one of the windows. She observed Trunks and Vegita having some sort of argument. Right as Vegita turned around, she ducked underneath the window in a bush.   
  
"Too close." She said, breathing heavily. She crept out of the yard and flew up into the air once again. She looked back at Capsule Corp. one last time, and then pressed onward, with nowhere to go. She couldn't return to Capsule Corp. She was getting frustrated and angry at the world. Her ki flared and she began to fly faster. She felt like taking out her rage on something, so she flew out into a field and ki blasted the ground. There was a smoking crater where the blast had hit.   
"I hate you!" she screamed, and blasted the ground once more. "I hate you mother! I hate you Orion! I hate you Melina!" she continued, sending repeated blasts into the field of grass, vaporizing the ground instantly. As her rage grew, so did her ki. It flared blue and yellow, and electricity seemed to surge through her body. Trunks detected her ki from the Capsule Corp. building and began to worry immediately. He informed Vegita of the situation, who apparently was aware of it as well. The both shot out of Capsule Corp. and headed in the direction of the ki. They came upon an enraged Natalie shouting irrational slurs at the sky. Trunks flew over to where she was hovering, and called out to her.   
  
"Natalie!" he said, reaching for her shoulder. She snapped around, looking at Trunks with hate in her eyes. Trunks had never seen her this way, not even when her mother had passed away.   
  
"Stay away from me!" she screamed. "You and that beast over there just go home and abuse each other, but leave me out of it!" she continued, and shot away from him. Vegita appeared behind her and grabbed her by the arms, bringing them together behind her back.   
  
"Listen to me girl. You calm down right now and come back with us." He said harshly. This further enraged Natalie and she yelled back at him.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do you freak! Let me go!" she said, struggling. Trunks watched on as his father kept her at bay. She was screaming things at him and tried repeatedly to kick him in the stomach, but he just held on. Her ki flared once more and she grew a golden aura. Vegita had a look of surprise on his face as her power level began to grow rapidly. Suddenly, she was interrupted by another wave of pain. Her aura dissolved and her ki ceased to flare, as she doubled over. She was holding her head and her face was twisted in pain.   
  
"What's wrong with her!?" Trunks asked and flew over to where Vegita was hovering. Vegita said nothing as the girl continued to suffer. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed.  
  
"Stop! Just leave me alone!" she cried out. The evil laugh was present again, but only Natalie could hear it. The pain was so unbearable that Natalie fell out of the sky. Trunks flew over and grabbed her, as she struggled to remain conscious.   
  
"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried, making pathetic swipes at Trunks' face.   
  
Vegita had enough of the commotion and flew over. He hit Natalie on the back of the head, knocking her out instantly. Her body went limp and her power level went back down.   
  
"What did you do that for!?" Trunks asked, turning to his father.  
  
"It was for her own good. She was clearly in a tremendous amount of pain and it's the only way we can get her back to Capsule Corp. safely. Come on." He said, and flew back to his home. Trunks followed, with Natalie in his arms. As they arrived at the door, Bulma was waiting for the, with a look of concern on her face.   
  
"What is it?" she asked, looking worriedly at Natalie's limp body.   
  
"No time to explain mother." Trunks said, and whizzed past the confused Bulma and up the stairs to Natalie's room. He placed her on the bed and put a damp cloth on her forehead. Vegita followed, and went in to check on the girl.  
  
"She should be okay once she waked up, aside from a bruise on her head." He said with a smirk on his face. Trunks got up and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.  
  
"Are we gonna tell her about Orion, dad?" Trunks inquired.   
"When she wakes up we can go explain the situation. Remember, he is after *her* and she needs to know this." Vegita replied and went downstairs, where Bulma was preparing dinner in the kitchen. The wind outside was howling and the skies continued to grow darker.   
  
"Honey is she okay?" Bulma asked her husband. She was stirring a pot of stew.  
  
"She just needs some rest." Vegita answered, and left the room. Trunks sat down at the table and stared out the window. Raindrops began to fall on the roof. The wind continued to blow and there were occasional rumbles of thunder.   
  
"What's on your mind, sweetie?" Bulma asked as she stirred.  
  
"Oh, nothing." He said, and gazed out into space. He got up and went upstairs to his room, where he plopped down onto the bed. He was unusually tired for some reason. There was a sudden flash of lightning and clap of thunder, causing Trunks to jump. The rain was getting heavier and the wind was blowing outside. He got up off his bed and walked down the hall to Natalie's room. He opened the door with caution, and looked into the room where she lay silently on the bed. He walked over, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the side of her bed and looked down at her as she stirred in her sleep. He bent down and kissed her gingerly on the forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and Trunks jumped back in surprise.   
  
"T-Trunks?" she said, squinting to make out his figure. "Trunks what are you doing here?"   
  
"You're back at Capsule Corp." he explained. "We brought you back."  
  
"No! I don't want to be here!" she said, sitting up. Trunks held her back with his arms. "Let go of me!" she cried.   
  
"Natalie you aren't safe anywhere else!" Trunks said. He held the struggling girl from running away.  
  
"Trunks please! Just let me go!" she pleaded. "I don't belong here!" Vegita heard the commotion and popped his head in to investigate.  
  
"What's going on here?" he asked, looking at the frightened Natalie. At seeing him, she jumped back and cowered in fear. "What?" he asked her. Trunks was getting frustrated at the situation and decided to do something about it.   
  
"Dad, go get the tranquilizing device. She's not in a rational state of mind." He said. Vegita ran to the medical wing to get the piece of equipment and back to the living quarters, where he placed the gadget in Trunks' hands.   
  
"Natalie lay back and relax. We aren't going to hurt you." Trunks said sternly. Not knowing what to do, she tensed up and sat against the headboard. Trunks placed the device on Natalie's head, which sent the beam across her forehead. Natalie's eyes became dilated and she lost her connection with reality. After she had calmed down considerably, Trunks took it off and shut it down.  
  
"Can you hear me?" he asked, shaking her body.   
  
"O-Orion...he's - " she broke off.   
  
"He's what?" Trunks asked. "What, Natalie?"  
  
"He's c-coming..." she trailed off. Trunks placed his hand on her forehead. It was burning up. The familiar touch of Trunks caused Natalie to snap out of her daze and look around the room with wide eyes.  
  
"What just happened?" she asked in her normal tone of voice. Trunks laughed happily and hugged Natalie. Vegita just sat in the doorframe and watched. As he left, Natalie thought she saw a smile on his face. As soon as Natalie gathered her thoughts and was feeling better, the two teens went downstairs. They saw Vegita sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed. He seemed to be concentrating on something.  
  
"D-dad?" Trunks asked cautiously.   
  
"Wait." Vegita replied, and continued. He jumped back and opened his eyes. "It looks like your mother was telling the truth about Orion." He said to Trunks.   
  
"What?" Natalie asked quizzically.   
  
"Orion." Trunks began. "He's very close." Natalie stared hard into space and tried to detect his presence.   
  
"He's strong." She said softly. Trunks could see her fear.  
  
"Damn right, he's strong. I don't know if we even have a chance of touching him." Vegita commented. Natalie sighed heavily and sat onto the sofa. She was terrified of this Orion, and didn't even know who he was.   
  
"What time is it, dad?" Trunks said, breaking the silence.  
  
"3:45. It's time to do some more training." Vegita said.  
  
"Do you even think this training is worth the effort? If he's as close as you say, what good would this do us before he arrives?" Natalie questioned. Vegita turned around and was about to say something harsh, but quickly corrected himself.   
  
"Every minute is precious. I suggest we spend them in the best way possible." He said, and got up, heading toward the gravity chambers.  
  
"Oh no, not gravity training again..." she sighed. While Vegita set the controls, Natalie slumped into chamber 2. She leaned against the dome-like walls and shivered when her skin cam in contact with the cold metal. Vegita's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"This time you get two holograms, Kameko and Sachi. Make sure to watch them both closely." He finished. Two holograms appeared in front of Natalie. One had blonde hair with green eyes, and the other had blue hair with purple eyes. They were both extremely intimidating, just as Tora had been. She guessed that the blonde one was Kameko, and the other was Sachi. Natalie whirred into a fighting stance, and the holograms followed. She waited for them to move. Kameko was first, diving toward the girl with her fist out. Natalie dodged, and came face-to-face with Sachi, who attempted to kick her in the side. Natalie jumped up, bringing her leg around to kick Sachi in the head. When her leg made contact, she spun around and punched Kameko in the stomach. An enraged Kameko retaliated with a ki blast, which Natalie barely dodged. She sent a blast flying in Sachi's direction, but she dodged it and shot one back at her. It grazed Natalie's arm. She jumped and did a roundhouse kick, which met up with Sachi's stomach. Sachi winced in pain and sent a powerful blast at Natalie's chest. Natalie just barely missed it as she lost her balance and fell into Kameko's arms by mistake. The angered girl grabbed Natalie by the back of the neck and squeezed. Natalie let out a cry of pain as Kameko smiled evilly. She held the struggling girl up by the neck, which allowed Sachi to deliver a painful blow to her jaw. Natalie cried out once more, which amused the two girls. She was in tremendous pain, but reacted quickly and elbowed Kameko in the stomach, causing her to lose her grip. She spun around and punched her in the jaw, and brought her leg around to kick Sachi in the ankles, causing her to lose her balance. Sachi screamed in rage as she jumped to her feet. Natalie stood in fighting stance in front of the two girls once again, and waited for their attacks. This time, they powered up considerably and began to fire rapid ki blasts at her body. Natalie dodged most of them easily but had a few close calls. She powered up as well and began to charge a blast, when out of nowhere another hologram appeared and hit her in the back.   
  
"What the!?" Natalie cried out and spun around to see another woman the same size as the other two. This one had fiery red hair and blue eyes. "Who the hell are you?" Natalie questioned, startled.  
  
"My name is Midori." She replied, and began to power up. Natalie was confused and bewildered.  
  
"VEGITA!" she screamed. His face appeared on the talk screen.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked.  
  
"Why didn't you warn me about the third one!?" she asked, frantically dodging attacks in the process.  
  
"Sometimes enemies attack from nowhere and you need to be prepared." Vegita replied and faded out.   
  
"Great!" Natalie sighed and tried desperately to keep herself alive amidst all the blasts and attacks from the three women.  
  
"Hah!" she screamed and fired an amazingly strong blast towards Sachi. She tried to dodge it but failed, and was caught in the beam's path. She screamed in pain as the beam surrounded her and vaporized her body almost instantly. "One down!" she shouted triumphantly. Midori and Kameko retaliated and sent two blasts at Natalie that combined to make one huge beam of energy. With no time to dodge, Natalie bravely shot her hands forward and tried with all her might to block the attack. It was driving her backward, and she tried desperately to keep her footing. She remembered seeing Trunks use a particular attack earlier and decided to try it. She tensed her muscles and concentrated on the two attackers.   
  
"Ka..." she began, as the two holograms watched on while continuing to pour out more energy. "Me...ha...me..." she continued and closed her eyes and gritted her teeth in determination. "HAAA!" she screamed, and sent an enormous wave of energy towards the two helpless women. They tried to block it, but that proved to be futile and Natalie could hear their screams as their bodies were incinerated. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees while breathing heavily. "Man what a blast." She said, panting. "Well at least I'm still alive and conscious." She said, trying to be optimistic. Vegita stood outside the chamber and watched in awe, as he looked on a monitor that showed the inside of the room. He pressed the button on the intercom and spoke into the speaker.  
  
"You can take a break now." He said, and allowed the door to open. As she passed through Trunks' chamber, she saw him sitting against the wall, wiping sweat off his forehead. He took one look at her battered body and his eyes widened.  
  
"What happened to you!?" he asked, surprised.   
  
"Oh, nothing really." She said, wiping blood off her lip. She walked out the main door and grabbed a towel out of Vegita's hand. Trunks just followed her with his gaze and sat in amazement. Vegita leaned his head in.  
  
"You can take a break too." He said. He tossed Trunks a towel as well, and Trunks walked out of the chamber. He mopped sweat off his forehead and chest as he walked over to where Natalie was sitting. He examined her injuries as he sat down next to her. He noticed that she had a split lip and a new wound just below where her other one had been healing. She also had a bruise on her jaw and scratches on her back.  
  
"Man, Natalie what were you doing in there?" he asked, looking her over once more.  
  
"She was fighting three holograms simultaneously." Vegita cut in.  
  
"Three!?" Trunks said with a bewildered look on his face.  
  
"Yep." She said, blotting blood off her shoulder.   
  
"Those things are evil!" he said. "Wow. Well they sure roughed you up." He said, playfully punching Natalie on the arm.  
  
"Thanks." She said, smirking at him. She got up and threw her towel on his head. "Hey are we finished for the day, or what?" she asked Vegita, who was recording her progress on a computer. He looked at the digital clock on the panel.  
  
"5:15. Time for dinner." He said, and turned off the computer. "Go in and wash up." The two teenagers ran into the building and raced up the stairs to their bathrooms where they washed their hands and splashed water onto their faces to wash off any residual sweat. Then they both ran back down and into the kitchen.   
  
"Mmm smells good, mom." Trunks said, inhaling deeply. Bra came running down the stairs and jumped into Natalie's arms.  
  
"Nat!" she cried. Natalie laughed and put her down.   
  
"Time to eat, girl." She said, and sat down at the table across from Trunks. Bulma came to the table with a pot of stew and another pot of rice. She served everyone and then sat down and served herself. Vegita and Trunks inhaled the food, slurping and spilling rice everywhere. Bulma and the two girls sat with sweat drops as the saiyans ate. In the midst of the commotion, Trunks stopped and looked up form his bowl of rice to observe Natalie staring at him with her jaw dropped. Trunks meekly set the bowl of rice aside and sipped his stew. When they were finished, Trunks and Natalie started to do upstairs, but were stopped by Vegita.  
  
"You two aren't finished yet." He said, calling them back down.  
  
"What? You mean we have more training?" Natalie said in a high pitched voice.  
  
"Don't whine at me girl. You two are going to train outside." He said, and led them out of Capsule Corp. After they finished stretching, Vegita began to explain their training.  
  
"You two will spar with each other this time, instead of the robots and holograms you have been using. Don't use energy until I say so." He explained. Natalie and Trunks obeyed and stood in front of each other in fighting positions.   
  
"Go." Vegita called, and they began to spar. "Trunks don't be afraid of hitting Natalie. She can take it." He continued. Trunks glanced back at his dad to confirm that and then began to pick up the pace. He launched at Natalie with his fist out, but she dodged and faded behind him before he could react. She slammed her fists into his back, causing him to shoot forward. He counter-attacked using his momentum to swing around and deliver a blow to her arm.   
  
"Come on, you can hit harder than that!" she said, smirking.  
  
"Oh, I don't think you would like that very much." He said and grabbed her arms, forcing them behind her back. "Never let your guard up." He said, grabbing her wrists and holding them together with one hand. At that angle, she couldn't get her arms free without using energy.   
  
"Okay let go!" she cried, as it was beginning to hurt  
.   
"You think some enemy would listen to you if you cried for mercy?" he said, laughing. "Try again." This angered Natalie, for this isn't what was supposed to happen. She forced her power level to stay low, so that she wouldn't accidentally use it. After struggling and getting nowhere, she became furious and began kicking and yelling at Trunks to let her go. Since he obviously wouldn't comply, she began to become desperate. She began to do into a daze, and reacted on instinct. She shot her head back, hitting Trunks in the face, causing his grip to loosen. She broke free and spun around with amazing speed, sending a punch across his face that sent him flying in the opposite direction. She flew after him and brought her fists together, bringing them crashing down on his back. He flew to the ground, face first, and Natalie followed to attack him once again. Suddenly, she snapped up as if coming out of a trance, and flew down to Trunks.  
  
"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I didn't even know what I was doing!" she said, apologizing profusely. Vegita flew over to where the two were hovering and started to yell at them, saying that they couldn't let their emotions get in the way of their training.  
  
"I-I'm sorry...I just didn't want to hurt him." Natalie said, her voice quivering. Trunks lifted his head and began to take up for her.  
  
"Don't shout at her dad, she didn't know." He said. "Give her another chance." Vegita grumbled and folded his arms.   
  
"Fine, but you can't let this become more than it is. Don't be afraid to hurt the other person." He said sternly. "If it gets out of hand, I will stop you two and that will be the end of it." He finished, and turned back to the building.  
  
"Wanna go again?" Trunks asked, slapping Natalie on the back.  
  
"Heh, sure." She replied, and got into position. 


	11. Chapter 11

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 11 - Before the Storm  
  
  
Natalie and Trunks were sparring in the yard as Vegita watched on, observing their various techniques and abilities. He had to rely on his senses rather than his eyes, because of the growing darkness.  
  
"You can use energy now." He shouted to them. As if it was his que, Trunks fired a ki blast at Natalie, who dodged it and fired on of her own right back at him. After several minutes of blasting and dodging, Vegita called the two over to tell them that training was over.  
  
"Ha! I call shower first!" Natalie cried and ran into the house, followed by Trunks. He was determined to beat her at her own game, so he elevated himself and flew up the stairs and into the bathroom before she could even protest.   
  
"No fair!" Natalie yelled, banging on the door to his room.   
  
"Heh, now don't be a spoil sport, Natalie." Trunks laughed from the bathroom.   
  
"Ugh! Men! They're all the same!" she cried, and turned to go to her room, when she bumped into Vegita.  
  
"You're right. I call shower second." He said, and then continued down the hall, laughing. Natalie's eyes narrowed and her jaw dropped, as Vegita turned to go into his room. She let out a frustrated growl and shuffled into her room where she came upon a blue-tinted scouter lying on her floor. She picked it up out of curiosity.   
  
"Let's see what this thing can do." She said, and pressed a large button on the side of the device. It bleeped and began to display several power levels located near by. "What the - " she said, trying to figure out what it was doing. Just then, Bulma walked by the door of her room.  
  
"What are you doing, sweetie?" she asked.   
  
"What is this?" Natalie asked, holding out the scouter, which was still turned on.   
  
"Oh, where did you find this? It's a scouter. It's used for various things, but we just use them for displaying power levels." She said, putting it on.  
  
"It was lying on my floor. Can you detect Trunks'?" she asked curiously.   
  
"Oh, sure. His, and Vegita's, and Goku's, and even yours." She said, scanning the area to locate them all.  
  
"Mine?" Natalie replied. "What is it?" she inquired.  
  
"Let's see here..." Bulma said, focusing on Natalie's form. "It says here that you have a power level of 50 million." She said, somewhat surprised.   
  
"Wow. Is that high?" she asked.  
  
"Uh, this thing must be broken." Bulma replied, though Natalie knew she wasn't the average human. "But Trunks is 200 million, Vegita is 350 million, and so forth." She continued. Compared to the others, Natalie's power level was dwarfed.   
  
"Wow..." Natalie thought to herself. But Orion's was far greater. A cold chill ran through her spine. Trunks opened the door of his room and emerged, wearing pretty much the same thing he had been wearing earlier, just clean.   
  
"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna go to bed." He said, yawning.  
  
"Yeah, us too." Bulma said. She went into her room after saying goodnight and giving everyone kisses. When she shut the door behind her, the two could hear Vegita's cries of anger as Bulma apparently walked in on him by accident. They just laughed at the sound and rolled their eyes.   
  
"Well I'm going to go get my shower now, FINALLY." She said, punching Trunks in the arm.   
  
"Hey, everyone gets their turn!" he said, returning the punch. She rolled her eyes playfully and returned to her room. She jumped into the shower and proceeded to wash her hair.   
  
"Hey! Where's my shampoo!?" she cried out, as she noticed it was missing. She could hear Trunks laughing in the other room. "Ugh that idiot." She said, stepping out of the shower and into a towel. The cold air gave her goosebumps as she pressed the button on the intercom.  
  
"Trunks! Return my shampoo right now! This isn't funny!" she cried into the speaker. A few seconds later there was a knock at her door and she swung it open to reveal a grinning Trunks with a bottle of shampoo in his hand. She grabbed the bottle and slammed the door in his face before he could even offer an apology. She ran back to the shower to return to the warm flow of water. After she was finished with her shower, she got out and put on a pair of black nylon pants and a black tank top. She put her wet hair in a tight ponytail and walked out on her balcony. The night air chilled her, but the glittering stars distracted her from any discomfort. She gazed into the heavens, remembering the dream she had and wished that she knew more about her past. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared in front of her. She screamed and jumped back, but the figure closed in on her and covered her mouth to smother her screams. She bit the hand, causing the figure to jump back.   
  
"Ow! That's twice you've done that to me!" a voice said. She focused on the figure as it stepped into the light, and realized that it was Trunks.  
  
"Oh my god, Trunks you scared me!" she said, letting out a relieved sigh.   
  
"Heh heh. Sorry." He said, and stepped closer to her.  
  
"Um...so what are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, I couldn't sleep. Anticipation I guess." He replied, and sat onto the railing, looking up at the stars.   
  
"It's a nice night for them, huh?" she said to him.  
  
"Huh? Oh the stars you mean. Yeah." He said, and looked back at the glittering jewels that hung in the black velvet of the night. It was a surreal sight.   
  
"Well why don't you come in?" she said, walking back into the room. "It's cold out here." Trunks hoped off the balcony railing and walked into the room. She gathered the towels off her bed and threw them on the floor in the corner. "Sorry for the mess. I just got out of the shower." She said, plopping down onto the bed. She laid back and rested her hands behind her head. She glanced over to where Trunks was sitting.   
  
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, with a concerned tone.  
  
"Yeah. I'm just...I don't know. I guess you could call it...annoyed." He replied.  
  
"Why?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Well...it's just that every time I try to settle down and have a normal life, something messes it all up. In this case, it's Orion." He said, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Oh. Hey at least he isn't out to get you or anything..." she trailed off.  
  
"Yeah well I'll probably be killed in the process anyway. You know how it works." He said dryly.   
  
"You know Trunks, if it bothers you that much then why don't you all just leave it up to me and I'll just go with him, so as he won't destroy the earth or anyone on it." She suggested.  
  
"Are you crazy!? Like we would just let him take you away like that?" Trunks said in an outburst.  
  
"S-sorry." She said, cowering over to the corner of her bed.  
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I just meant that I wouldn't give up without a fight." Natalie turned around to look at Trunks with tear-filled eyes.   
  
"Do you really mean that?" she asked, her body trembling.  
  
"Every word." He said, stroking her cheek, brushing away a tear that fell down her face. He brought her chin up and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Natalie became lost, and for one moment, she felt that there was nobody else in the world. When she opened her eyes, she was face to face with him once again. She grabbed him by the shirt and threw herself onto him, sobbing quietly. She was angry with Orion for doing this to her. She wouldn't allow him to harm anyone else, even if it meant her own life. Trunks held the distraught girl in his arms until she settled down and fell into a deep sleep. When he was sure that she wouldn't wake, he laid her down to rest and left the room quietly.   
  
The next morning, Natalie woke up to the sun shining on her face. She sat up in bed, looking at the clock on the table.   
  
"8:30!? How come nobody woke me?" she wondered, and got up out of bed, stretching. She opened the doors to her balcony, letting the warm, fresh air come into her room. "What a perfect morning." She thought to herself. She inhaled the morning air before walking downstairs to discover that the house was empty.   
  
"Hello?" she called throughout the living quarters. There was no reply, so she decided to check in Trunks' room to see if he was there. After she knocked and received no answer, she opened the door slowly. She glanced into the room to see that Trunks obviously wasn't there and had been out for a while. "Okay, great. Now everybody left me." She said sarcastically and walked out into the hallway again, making sure that nobody was downstairs one last time. After inspecting the area again, she walked back into her room. She made her bed and tidied that bathroom out of boredom, and then walked out onto the balcony.  
  
"Hello!" she called out, but nobody replied. "Is anyone there?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Since there was obviously nobody around, she decided to have a little fun. "Trunks! If you can hear me, I think you're really cute!" she shouted, laughing to herself. But as she turned around, she bumped into that all familiar, purple-haired figure. "T-Trunks!" she said, her face totally red.  
  
"So, I'm cute huh?" he said, running his hand through his soft hair. "Thanks." He said, smirking. Natalie was too embarrassed to say anything, so she just stood with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "Hey, hello?" Trunks said, waving his hand in front of her face, but she just stood, looking up at him with huge green eyes.  
  
"Hey Natalie! If you're in there, I think you're cute too!" he said, snapping her out of her daze. She closed her eyes and inhaled, opening her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Trunks.  
  
"Hey come on, let's go downtown today." He said, grabbing her by the arm and leading her into the bedroom.  
  
"You mean we don't have to train?" she asked, following behind.  
  
"Nah, we can train later. We need to go have some fun." He said, and then ran towards the door. "Be ready in 10 minutes." He said, and then left, shutting the door behind him. Natalie walked to her closet and examined the little amount of clothing that she had.  
  
"I really need to get some more clothes from home." She said, grabbing a pair of khaki shorts and a navy blue tank top. She slipped into the clothing, and then went into the bathroom to fix her hair. She took her hair down from the ponytail she pulled it up in the previous night and brushed all the tangles out of it. Then she pulled it back up and tied a white ribbon in her hair to top it off. She washed her face and brushed her teeth before walking out into the hallway where Trunks was waiting for her.  
  
"Come on. We can get breakfast out." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the stairs.  
  
"But what about your parents?" she asked while trying to keep up before she tripped.  
  
"Oh, they're gone. They went out this morning and took Bra with them." He replied, and they ran out the door. The sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for an outing. They walked down the sidewalk, arm in arm, enjoying the cool breeze that whipped through their hair and rustled Trunks' nylon pants. The city wasn't very busy today, with only a few people walking around downtown. It was a perfect morning. They came upon a street café with three tables sitting outside. The place didn't look busy, so Trunks and Natalie popped in to see if they had anything good to eat. There was nobody waiting inside, to they took the opportunity to get something before a crowd came. Trunks and Natalie stepped up to the counter, and observed the selections behind the glass windows.  
  
"Can I help you sir?" the waiter asked.  
  
"Yeah...I'll take a cherry danish and a glass of fruit juice." Trunks said, and then looked at Natalie. "What do you want?" he asked.  
  
"Hmm..." she said, inspecting the food. "I'll have a blueberry muffin and an orange juice, no pulp." She ordered. The cashier rang up the prices on the register.   
  
"That will be 5 dollars and 30 cents." The guy said, as he looked Natalie up and down, much to her annoyance. She shot him a look that said "don't mess with me". Trunks paid for the food and they took it outside, sitting at one of the tables. They sat and ate, while people watching.   
  
"That cashier in there was weird." She commented, while taking a bite of her muffin, which was loaded with blueberries.   
  
"Yeah, well check out that woman over there." Trunks said, guesturing to a woman about in her mid-50's with grey curly hair. Natalie's mouth was agape as she gazed at the fluorescent green dress with pink trim and lace.  
  
"Whoa...and I thought Akari wore weird clothes!" she commented, taking another bite of muffin. They laughed and continued to eat on the sunny morning.  
  
  
Meanwhile, Goten was at his house dragging his sore body out of bed. He knew that it would be another hard day of training, and he grumbled at the thought. As he shuffled down the stairs, he almost ran into Goku, who was walking up the stairs opposite of him.  
  
"Oh, hey son. I just wanted to tell you - " Goku was cut off by Goten's dry remark.  
  
"Yeah, dad. Training begins in 20 minutes. So what else is new?"   
  
"Uh...well actually I came to tell you to take it easy today." Goku replied. "But if you want to train, that's fine." He finished. Before he could say another word, Goten was out the door. He flew towards Capsule Corp. to visit Trunks, as he had not heard from him in a while. He arrived but noticed that no one was home, so he headed into the city alone. He landed on the ground and began to walk through the inner part of downtown, when he came upon Trunks and Natalie sitting at a table nearby. He ran over to where they were sitting, startling the couple.  
  
"Goten! How's it going?" Trunks asked, pulling up a chair for him to sit down.  
  
"Oh, man am I glad to be away from all that training and exercising for once!" he said, relieved.   
  
"Yeah us too. My parents left this morning with my sister and told me that we could go out for the afternoon." Trunks said. "Do you want anything to eat?"  
  
"No, I'm not really hungry." Goten replied. Trunks was surprised, because saiyans were known for their tremendous appetites.  
  
"Oh. Well do you wanna hang out with us for the afternoon?" Trunks asked thoughtfully.  
  
"Sure. Anything would be better than staying at home, and I don't have anything better to do." Goten replied, and turned to Natalie. "Hey what's up?" he asked.   
  
"Nothing, but what's with those cowlicks?" she joked.  
  
"Hey now." He said, looking around to make sure that nobody was looking. As soon as the coast was clear, Goten powered up to Super Saiyan and his hair turned brilliant gold. Natalie jumped back in surprise, as she'd never seen anyone do that before. Goten powered down again, causing his black hair to fall back into its normal place, minus the bead-head. "That better?" he joked with the stunned girl.  
  
"Heh heh - yeah." She said, taking a sip of her juice.  
  
"Nice one, Goten. Next time warn us so that she doesn't have a heart attack." Trunks commented, and then looked reassuringly at Natalie, who had her straw in her mouth and was chewing on it nervously.   
"Well anyway, let's go somewhere. This café is lacking excitement." Natalie said, pulling the mangled straw out of her mouth and tossing it in a nearby trash can along with other garbage from their meal. "Oh my gosh I know of this store that has really great prices, and..." she trailed off. "Oops, heh. Silly me." She said.   
  
"What?" Trunks and Goten asked simultaneously.   
  
"Oh, nothing." She commented, and immediately changed the subject. "Well let's walk down the street and see if there are any good stores around." She said, hopping out of the chair. Goten and Trunks exchanged glances and then got up as well. Natalie walked ahead of the two boys, looking back at them from time to time. "Come on, it's no fun with you two lagging behind!" she said, not paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly, she slammed into a passerby.  
  
"Hey watch where you're going, girl." The person said.  
  
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." She said, turning to face the angered man. "Tobias!" she cried, stepping back.  
  
"Natalie!?" the guy replied, surprised. He was about Trunks' height with blonde hair just short of his ears and deep green eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"N-nothing. I have to go." She said, attempting to leave. Tobias didn't notice the two Saiyans watching him.   
  
"No wait." He said, grabbing her arm.  
  
"Tobias let me go." She said sternly, attempting to break free, but he held on.  
  
"Natalie will you just talk to me?" he pleaded. Natalie looked into his eyes and felt sorry for him, but didn't let her emotions get in the way.  
  
"No, Tobias. You need to leave. Now." She said, raising the volume of her voice.  
  
"Natalie I won't let you leave me again. You have to listen." He said, pulling her closer. She looked desperately in Trunks and Goten's direction.  
  
"Hey, let her go." Trunks said, stepping in.  
  
"I suggest you back off, punk, or you'll wish you'd never seen me." He said, threateningly.   
  
"Oh really?" Trunks challenged. Goten stepped up, and both had a serious look in their eyes.   
  
"Hey don't mess with me." He said, jerking Natalie by the arm. She had had enough of being treated like a piece of meat, and elbowed him in the side. Tobias crouched down, his side throbbing in pain.  
  
"Hey, nobody does that to me, Natalie." He said, and began to get up to attack her. Natalie was about to fight back, when Trunks came out of nowhere and delivered a painful kick to his jaw. Tobias fell to the ground once more, and looked up at the threesome with fear in is eyes.   
  
"Okay, man. Just don't touch me again!" he said, scrambling away. Natalie and the two boys turned around and began walking in another direction.  
  
"Hey who was that, Natalie?" Trunks asked, increasing his speed to catch up with Natalie."  
  
"Just someone I know." She replied bitterly and walked in a fast pace. Trunks continued to keep up with her.  
  
"Come on, Nat. You can tell me." He said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to a halt. She turned around and looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears. Trunks knew he had made a mistake.  
  
"You wanna know?" she asked, jerking her hand away from Trunks. "You really wanna know? He is my old boyfriend." She said, and pointed to a faded scar on the inside of her forearm. "He did this to me." She said, and then pointed to one on her ankle. "And this." She said. Trunks looked in awe as the teenage girl pointed out various marks on her body, most of them barely noticeable, but Trunks knew that they caused a lot of emotional scarring as well. He just grabbed the sobbing girl and held her as she cried. Goten watched in disbelief.   
  
"I'm really sorry, Trunks. I couldn't help it." She said, wiping her eyes.  
  
"It's okay. It's not your fault." He reassured her, and then held her by the shoulders, looking at her. "Dry your eyes, and let's go have some fun." He said. Natalie smiled faintly and wiped her eyes again, heading into a store to use the restroom. When she had gone in, Goten spoke up.  
  
"Man what was that all about?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. She's been through an awful lot lately." He said, a blank stare on his face. He had a weird sensation in the back of his mind. "It's probably just anxiousness about Orion." He thought and dismissed the feeling. When Natalie emerged from the store she was looking a lot happier and dry eyed this time. The three walked down the street, stopping in various shops along the way.  
  
"Hey look at this kawaii little guy!" Natalie said, picking up a stuffed animal from a rack. Trunks turned around to see her playing with a little stuffed tiger. It was about the size of a volleyball with two green eyes and shiny faux fur. Trunks took it from her hands and inspected it.  
  
"Yep." He said, handing it back to her. She looked at it for a few seconds longer and then set it back onto the shelf, moving to another rack of miscellaneous items. When they were finished, they left the store and continued on, stopping at a fast food place for lunch. By then Goten was starving and ordered 15 hamburgers, although he insisted to Natalie that he could eat more. She was impressed with the boys' appetites as she munched on a fry. Well she had certainly had her fill after a double cheeseburger, fries, and a soda. When they had all finished, they were wandering around with nowhere to go, as they had already been to all the stores in that area.   
  
"Any suggestions, guys?" she asked as she threw her arms around the necks of the unsuspecting teenagers. Suddenly, they heard a crash, followed by several panicked screams. Their heads shot up and they looked in the direction of the commotion. The three teens raced down the street to discover a terrible car wreck. Broken glass and crunched metal were everywhere.  
  
"Somebody call an ambulance! These people need help, now!" Natalie said, and raced over to the scene. She quickly scanned the area for any people in need of immediate medical attention. There were three people involved in the crash. There was a man in his mid thirties in a small compact car and a woman and her young son in another, larger one. She pulled the people to safety with the help of Trunks and Goten. The two adults were unconscious as she freed them, but the little boy was crying. Natalie picked him up, and tried to console him. He was covered in scratches and bruises, and a trickle of blood ran down his cheek.   
  
"It's okay. You mom is going to get some help. We're taking her to the hospital." She said, holding the little boy in her arms. He appeared to be about five years old, with light brown hair and blue eyes. He resembled Chibi Trunks somewhat, without the purple hair. He looked around frantically, searching for his mother. When he didn't see her, he began to cry again.  
  
"Hey, hey. What's your name, little guy?" she asked, trying to distract him until the ambulance arrived.  
  
"N-Nathan." He said, sniffing.   
  
"Nathan? Hi my name is Natalie." She said. Nathan's mom was lying on the pavement, moaning. Natalie handed Nathan to Trunks while she went to check her vital signs.   
  
"Her heart rate is slowing!" she said frantically. Soon, she heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. She ran over to Trunks and grabbed the now terrified Nathan and told the medical officer what had happened. The paramedics ran out of the vehicle with stretchers and oxygen masks. After everyone had been safely placed inside, the officer grabbed Nathan and took him along to be with his mom. As the ambulance drove away, Natalie watched his little blue eyes well up with tears until he was out of sight. Natalie waved goodbye, trying to keep a happy look on her face. Trunks and Goten ran over to comfort her, as they knew she would become upset.  
  
"Natalie are you okay?" they asked.  
  
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine!" she said, plastering on a fake smile. She decided that she wasn't going to let this event get to her. After the people around stopped running around in panic, the trio continued their walk down the street. Goten looked at his watch.  
  
"Hey guys, it's 3:30. We should be heading back before the 4:00 rush hour." He suggested, and the three headed in the direction of their homes. When Trunks and Natalie reached Capsule Corp., they bid Goten farewell and headed inside the building. As soon as they entered the foyer, Trunks spoke.  
  
"Hey, Natalie. Stay here. I'll be right back." Trunks said, running up the stairs. When he returned, they both walked up the stairs together.   
  
"Where did you go?" she asked curiously. They were nearing the living quarters.   
  
"Oh, I just had to check on something." He replied rather casually. As Natalie approached her door, Trunks cleared his throat rather loudly. Natalie looked at him with a puzzled look on her face, but continued on. She opened the door and walked in with Trunks by her side.  
  
"SURPRISE!" Natalie almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the shouts. There stood Bra, Bulma, and Vegita. She looked around her room, and saw that they had brought over all of her things from her old house! Her bed was there, as well as her computer and her phone, and her walls were even painted the same shade of yellow. She jumped back and cries of joy were heard. Bulma and Bra were standing, beaming with pride, while Vegita stood with his arms crossed. "At least he isn't scowling this time", she thought. Natalie ran up to them, hugging Bulma, and Bra. When she reached Vegita, she hugged him as well, but he just grunted.   
  
"Vegita, don't be rude!" Bulma said, poking him in the ribs. He lost his balance and almost fell over as Trunks and Natalie laughed. She ran and jumped onto her bed, inhaling the scent of her room.   
  
"This is the best!" she exclaimed and looked up at Trunks. "You knew about this all along!" she said, smiling at him.  
  
"Yep. Why do you think we went out this morning? To get out of the house while they did the work." He said. "And I have something else for you." He said, pulling a bag out of his jacket. Natalie tore it out of his hands and looked inside.  
  
"That cute tiger animal I saw at the store!" she exclaimed. "But how did you...?   
  
"I had Goten buy it for you while we were leaving. Heh heh, pretty cool, huh?" he said, inspecting the animal. Natalie hugged Trunks and sat the animal on her bed.  
  
"Oh guys, this is so nice!" she said, sitting with her legs indian-style.   
  
"Well we thought you deserved it after all you've done..." Bulma said sweetly as Bra ran over and jumped into Natalie's lap.   
  
  
That night, they had a mini-celebration, as Bulma cooked a special meal for the family, followed by a small cake. They laughed and ate, and a food fight almost grew between Natalie, Trunks, and Vegita. As soon as they were finished, Natalie and Trunks returned to their living quarters, full of food. Natalie ran into her room and jumped onto her bed, grabbing the stuffed tiger and holding it above her head.  
  
"He needs a name..." she said to Trunks, lying on her back. "I think I'll name him Vela." She said, in remembrance of her home world, which Trunks did not know about.  
  
"Why Vela?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Oh, it's of sentimental value." She said, hugging the stuffed animal and resting it on her stomach.   
  
"But I don't wanna go!" Bra cried as Bulma and Vegita forced her into bed. They eventually got her under the covers and Bulma kissed her goodnight while Vegita turned out the light. Exhausted from the day's events, the couple walked towards their bedroom.   
  
"Natalie? Trunks? We're heading to bed now. Sleep well." Bulma said tiredly and then headed for the room, shutting the door behind her. Natalie got off of the bed and went over to her dresser, pulling out the pair of black nylon pants and black tank top that she had been sleeping in. She went to the bathroom and changed. When she emerged, she threw her clothes in her closet. They had even brought all her clothes over too.  
  
"Sorry about this mess. Every time I clean it up, it comes back and - " she was interrupted by Trunks, who kissed her on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the warm feeling washed over hey body. It was as if everything in the world was perfect. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a squeal from the bedroom door. They spun around to see Bra standing there in her blue pajamas.  
  
"Gross!" Bra said, observing the two. They jumped away from each other and tried to think of an excuse.  
  
"Oh, Bra...we were just...er..." Natalie said nervously.  
  
"Practicing!" Trunks interjected. "We were practicing for a play. The script calls for a kiss at the end of scene 5." Trunks lied, hoping to convince his sister.  
  
"Yeah right! I don't believe you!" she said.  
  
"Well...you won't tell mom or dad, will you?" Trunks said with his hand behind his head, laughing nervously.  
  
"You bet I will! When they find out what you did..." she said.  
  
"Well then I guess I'll just have to tell her about the time you spilled grape juice on their carpet and covered it up with a rug." Trunks said.  
  
"Touché!" Natalie said, but shut up when Bra shot her a glare.  
  
"Fine, I won't tell. But you have to promise you won't tell about the grape juice either." She said, folding her arms, mimicking her father.  
  
"I promise." Trunks said, trying not to roll his eyes. He tucked Bra into bed and then returned to Natalie's room where she was lying sleepily on the bed.   
  
"Well I guess I'll let you get some sleep. See you tomorrow." He said, and left. The two settled into their beds and drifted off to sleep on the warm, summer night. 


	12. Chapter 12

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 12 - Doomsday   
  
  
Natalie tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling a slur of words. Outside, the breeze blew and rustled the leaves on the tree. The earth stood still, as if it was the calm before the storm.   
  
Trunks was lying awake in bed. He couldn't get any sleep, and his heart was beating so loudly that he thought it would wake someone up. He could detect the extremely high ki on its way to earth. He feared for Natalie's safety, as well as the safety of his family. The fact that this alien was after an innocent girl enraged him, but he kept his power down. He closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep, but it was no use. He had been lying in bed for hours, and his body wouldn't comply with him. He just sat in bed and stared out of his window at the glittering stars...  
  
Natalie awoke on the warm Thursday morning with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She assumed that it was from the nightmares that she'd had the previous night. She stretched in bed, and looked out the window at the overcast sky. The thought of a rainstorm made her sleepy, and she settled back into her bed. No more than five minutes later, the door to her room swung open. She sat up in bed, startled, and saw Vegita standing in the doorway.  
  
"Time to get up girl. You need to do some more training today." He said, and waited for her to get out of her warm safe haven. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell back onto the bed with a thud.   
  
"You heard me! Get up!" he said, using telekinesis to lift the covers off of her. Her cold body curled up into a ball. Eventually, Vegita had to walk over to her and physically lift her out of the bed. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" he asked, carrying her across the room by the back of her shirt. She just mumbled. He carried her out into the hallway and dropped her on the ground.  
  
"Now go get ready. We begin in 10 minutes." He said, and threw something at her. She picked it up off the ground and examined it. It was a tiny seed with an off-white tint to it.  
  
"What the - " she said, staring at it with a look of confusion on her face.  
  
"Senzu seed!" Trunks proclaimed, walking out of his room. He popped one of the little beans into his mouth and chewed on it.  
  
"Huh?" she asked. "You want me to eat this?" she looked down at it. "Don't you guys have any real breakfast food?"  
  
"This is breakfast. Go on, eat it." He said.  
  
"Okay, but I hardly doubt that this little seed is going to satisfy my growling stomach." She said, and tossed it into her mouth. Almost instantly, she felt alert and her stomach was no longer sending pangs of hunger through her body. The soreness in her muscles went away also. "Wow!" she said, and looked at her hands, not believing the miraculous change in her body.  
  
"Oh, those aren't even the strong ones. We only use those in battle. These are just for the purpose of giving someone the equivalent of a day's worth of food. The other ones are ten times as strong." He said, and helped her up off the ground.   
  
"So are there anymore wonder-beans around here?" she asked.   
  
"No, those are only found at Korrin Tower." He explained, realizing that she didn't know what Korrin tower was.  
  
"What's - " she began, but Trunks was ahead of her, and began to explain it before she could even finish her question. When he was finished telling the story, they went downstairs to wait for Vegita's orders. He came out of the master suite with two sacks. He walked down the stairs and tossed the bags to the two teens. Natalie caught hers, but the weight was more than she expected and she fell down to the ground with them. Trunks caught his and almost dropped them, but held on.  
  
"Weighted clothing?" Trunks asked. "But can't we just use the gravity room?"  
  
"No. Those chambers give you a limited amount of space to work in. These clothes will duplicate the effects of G-Training, without actually using the rooms." He said, and walked outside. "Go put those on, and meet me out here in five minutes." He grumbled. Natalie and Trunks walked to their rooms with the clothing. Natalie was having a hard time carrying the things up the stairs. They changed into the clothing and Natalie inspected them as she put them on. There were weighted boots, a weighted tank top, and wristbands.  
  
"Oh man. These things weigh 10 pounds each, alone!" she cried while lifting the wristbands, and slipped into the clothing. The boots fit snugly, but she could barely walk in them, and the tank top was a little loose, but otherwise worked out pretty well. She struggled out of her room, grasping onto walls and various tables along the way. She saw Trunks casually walk out of the room as if he hadn't even put the weights on.  
  
"Hey!" she cried at him. "Didn't you change?"   
  
"Yeah, see?" he said, showing her the boots and wristbands. She just grumbled and attempted to walk down the stairs. They walked...er...crawled out the door and into the yard where Vegita was waiting for them.  
  
"What are you doing, girl?" Vegita asked, looking at Natalie with an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"I...can't...walk..." she said, doing her best to get into the training area.  
  
"Well you'll get used to them. You'll have to." He said, and fired a weak ki blast at her. She couldn't dodge it, so she created a ki shield to absorb it instead.  
  
"No ki shields!" he said, and fired another one at her. She tried to get away, but it grazed her arm, sending pain through her body.   
"Hey! Don't take advantage of my situation, ok!" she shouted, and struggled to her feet.   
  
"This is how you learn." He said, and charged at her. She managed to dodge his attack, but he blurred and appeared behind her, slamming his fist into her back which sent her flying a few feet forward. She turned around to counter-attack, but the weights slowed her down and Vegita blurred out of sight once again. He appeared behind her with his arms crossed. She swung around and held her arms out in a fighting stance.  
  
"You have to learn to be quicker." He said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Yeah well I'm trying! These weights aren't exactly helping me!" she said in reply to his remark.   
  
"Well try harder then!" he said, and surged forward again. This time, instead of dodging, she blocked his attack with her arm and punched him in the side. He came back at her with a kick to the stomach, but she grabbed his foot and pushed him backwards, and then sent a ki blast flying. He blocked it, and stood up, wiping the dirt off his armor.   
  
"That's what I expected to see. Now Trunks will be sparring with you this time. Don't hold out, he can take it." He said, and Trunks stepped in. He came at her with a punch ready, but she grabbed his arm and threw him backward, sending a weak ki blast at him. He merely dodged it and sent one flying back at her. She deflected it and tried to run at him, but was having trouble moving her feet with the weighted boots on. Seeing this weakness, he blurred out of sight and reappeared behind her and attempted to punch her in the back, but she ducked and his hand flew over her head. She reached up and grabbed it, and flipped him over her body, sending him into the ground. He used his hands to spring him upwards, and came down at Natalie with his foot flying towards her face. She swung her head to dodge it, but on his way down, Trunks grabbed her arm and sent her flying into the air, and sent a ki blast after her. She retaliated with one of her own, and they met in mid-air while she hovered in the air at a 45-degree angle from him. Trunks poured more energy into his blast, and it was pushing hers back toward her. She struggled to stay in the air with the weights on, but was slowly falling downward. She let go of her energy, and she fell toward the ground while Trunks' ki blast surged right by her. She landed on the ground with a thud, and struggled to get up. Trunks blurred next to her and stepped on her back with one foot.  
  
"Looks like you've been beaten!" Vegita said, amused, and hovered over to where the two were. Natalie looked up at Vegita with a smirk on her face, and then her ki flared a brilliant blue color, sending Trunks and Vegita flying backwards 10 feet.   
  
"What the - " Vegita said as she stood up, with a gold aura around her. She put her fingers to her forehead and closed her eyes, as her hair and clothes began to rise into the air. She opened her eyes and sent an enormous blast towards the two saiyans, and before they could even react, the energy slammed into them, sending them flying back further. When she finished her blast, they lay on the ground about 25 feet away from her with singe marks on their clothes and smoke coming off of their bodies. They had surprised expressions on their faces as Natalie walked over and stood on *their* backs.  
  
"So who's been beaten now?" she said, grinning. The two just grumbled and put their heads in the palms of their hands. Bulma peered her head out the window and a sweat drop appeared on her forehead.   
  
"Uh...time for lunch." She said, and went back into the building. Natalie and the two scorched warriors walked into the house for lunch. Since they had eaten senzu seeds earlier, Bulma just fixed some hors d'oeuvres for the three. Trunks and Natalie munched on the tiny finger-foods while Vegita drank some juice. Bulma couldn't help but stare at the scorched saiyans as they ate.  
  
"What happened to you guys?" she asked, inspecting Vegita's armor and body suit. Vegita just made a grunting noise and looked up at Natalie, who just grinned innocently. Bulma smirked, and then looked at her singed son.   
  
"Well I'm glad you helped to deflate his ego, hun." She said to Natalie, and then ran her hand through Vegita's hair several times, causing it to flatten. Vegita grumbled and pulled away from her while Natalie shot a weak, electric blast at his hair, making it stand up again. Trunks cracked up, but stopped immediately when he saw the look of death in Vegita's eyes. Vegita shot a weak blast of his own under the table at Natalie. She jumped in her seat, and this time Vegita laughed. She narrowed her eyes and returned fire. Soon they were having a battle of the super-powers while Trunks and Bulma watched. When the smoke cleared, Natalie and Vegita were standing in the middle of the kitchen with half-eaten scraps of food, as well as cups and plates, lying all over the floor. They looked reluctantly at Bulma, who had her hands on her hips.  
  
"Well I guess you know who gets to clean this mess!" she said, glaring. Natalie bent down and gathered a few scraps into a plate at threw them away. Soon Vegita joined her, while Bulma escorted Trunks up the stairs to prevent him from helping. The two worked in silence until Natalie spoke up.  
  
"Well at least you got your hair fixed!" she said, tossing a paper cup into the trash. Vegita grunted and continued his work. He wasn't about to speak to that earth girl. "Hey how come you never talk to me, unless you're giving me orders?" she inquired, ceasing her chore. Vegita stood up and put his hands on his hips.   
  
"Why should I waste my breath on an insignificant little human girl?" he said.   
  
"Maybe because I waste my breath on you." She replied, crossing her arms. Vegita stood in shock that someone had the nerve to talk back to him. He ran at her with his fist out, intending to scare her, but she stood her ground when his fist stopped an inch away from her face. Vegita's glare alone scared her, but she didn't give in.   
  
"Humph. I guess you aren't as cowardly as I thought you were." He said, smirking. He brought his hand down to his side and continued to clean.  
  
"Well you aren't as cold as I thought you were." She said.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.  
  
"You wasted your breath on me." She said, and threw a piece of tomato at his face. He peeled the tomato off of his face and crushed it, throwing the pulpy remains back at her.  
  
"Gross!" she said, and scraped the tomato smear off of her arm. Vegita sat and laughed at her misfortune while she threw it away. Trunks watched from upstairs and was amazed that someone had gotten his dad to...heaven forbid...laugh. He turned to walk back into his room before he was discovered. When the mess in the kitchen was clean, the two shuffled up the stairs to get cleaned up. While Natalie was climbing stair after stair, she suddenly tripped and did a face plant into the carpet. Vegita was standing behind her with a not-so-innocent look on his face, and then stepped onto her back on his way up.   
  
"Oh I hope he falls!" she thought, closing her eyes and clenching her right fist. No sooner than said (or thought), he fell forward and barely managed to catch himself. Natalie facefaulted and lifted herself off the floor.   
  
"Ha." She said, and walked over him on the way to her room.  
  
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you with a ki blast and cremate your remains!" he said, charging a blast. Natalie knew that he was just bluffing.  
  
"Because you would miss me." She said and winked, shutting the door to her room. Vegita lifted his body off of the ground and walked past her room, resisting the urge to blow the door out of its hinges, just to scare the daylights out of the brat. Natalie changed out of the weighted clothing and let them fall to the floor, making loud noises as they did. She stood in her bra and underwear, enjoying the feeling of her normal weight, when the door to her room swung open and Trunks ran in with Vegita behind him.  
  
"Hey Natalie we're going - " he broke off and the two facefaulted when they realized that they had walked in on her changing. Natalie screamed and jumped behind her curtains, shouting at them for coming in. They ran out of her room like two frightened little boys while Bulma watched with a sweat drop on her forehead. After she had showered and gotten dressed, she walked out of her room. When she made eye contact with Trunks she turned beet red and returned to her room. Trunks knocked on her door and she opened it slowly, peeking around the side of it to see who it was. She opened it when she realized that it was Trunks.  
  
"Natalie I just wanted to say that I'm - "  
  
"It's okay I'll learn to change in my bathroom next time!" She said before he could even finish. He held his hand out to her with a single red rose in his palm. She graciously accepted it and hugged him so hard that he almost fell backwards.  
  
"Thanks!" she said, and put the rose in a glass of water from her bathroom.   
  
"Uh - Natalie?" Trunks started.  
  
"Yes?" she said, looking up from her flower with her big green eyes. Trunks stepped closer to her.  
  
"Natalie...I - " he broke off, and there was a huge explosion heard. It rocked the house like an earthquake, shattering glass and knocking things off of shelves and countertops. When the dust settled, Natalie and Trunks were in a heap on the floor.  
  
"What was that!?" Natalie cried, jumping up. Trunks stood up as well and they raced down the stairs and out the door to investigate. They hovered in the air, scanning the area, when Natalie's heart stopped. There, in the middle of a field, was an enormous crater about the size of a football field with dust and smoke pouring into the sky. One glance was all it took for them to realize what was going on, and she panicked. She was so terrified that she almost fell from the sky, but Trunks grabbed her arm and raced to Capsule Corp. faster than Natalie had ever seen him go.  
  
"Mom! Dad!" Trunks screamed throughout the building. There were coughing noises heard from the living quarters and the two teens ran up the stairs. There was Vegita, still shielding Bulma with his body, with dust and debris scattered all around them.  
  
"What the hell was that noise?" Vegita said, helping his mate off of the ground.  
  
"Th-there is a - " Natalie started.  
  
"A crater! Dad it's a space pod!" he said, frightened. Vegita's head snapped up and his eyes widened. Suddenly he could feel the presence of a ki. The power level jumped dramatically. Trunks and Natalie sensed it as well and it caused the hairs on their necks to stand on end. Vegita and Trunks shot out the door faster than lightning, leaving Natalie behind. Her ki flared and she shot after them with incredible speed as well. They reached the crash site and hovered in the air 100 feet away and 50 feet in the air. Smoke was still pouring out of the crater and the dust began to settle. So far there was no activity, but the ki was still present. It was so large that they had trouble focusing on it. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the wreckage. At first they couldn't make out the form because of all the smoke, but it cleared and they were able to see a person. Out came an intimidating warrior. He was six feet tall with spiky blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He was extremely well built and just the look on his face caused Natalie to jump back.   
  
"A-a-" she tried to speak, but her voice failed her. The figure produced an item very similar to a scouter and held it up to his eye, scanning their ki's and locating others.  
  
"A-" she tried again, but couldn't. Her body was trembling violently and her ki was jumping erratically. The figure approached the group slowly, hovering at the same height as they were. When he was about ten feet away, he spoke in a commanding voice,  
  
"Well, well, well. You must be my dear Carina. I am Orion." 


	13. Chapter 13

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 13 - The Battle  
  
  
  
Natalie and the two saiyan warriors stood speechless as the figure hovered ominously only feet away from them. She tried to speak once again, but only sounds came out.  
  
"What's the matter? Weren't expecting me?" he said with an evil grin on his face. He didn't know about the dream she had that night, so he figured that she had no idea of who he was.  
  
"My dear, sweet princess. Don't you know who I am?" he said, getting closer to the three. "And who are these weaklings?" he said, gesturing to Trunks and Vegita. They snarled, but kept themselves calm, trying not to reveal their power just yet. Orion laughed mockingly at them.   
  
"Th-these are my friends." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She was beyond shock. His presence made her extremely jittery, and yet it felt all too familiar for some reason.  
  
"Friends?" he laughed, cocking his head to the side. "Carina you don't need these pathetic human friends any longer." He said.  
  
"Hey! Who are you calling pathetic?" Vegita said with an angered look on his face.  
  
"Why you, of course. What else would I expect from an earth-child?" the warrior replied.   
  
"Earth-child my ass! I am Vegita, Prince of Saiyans!" he said, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.  
  
"Saiyans? You mean there were some left?" he asked, surprised.  
  
"How did you know about - " Vegita broke off.  
  
"Oh, I know all about planet Vegita and it's destruction. Yes, it was Freeza, wasn't it?" he said, gathering his thoughts. "I remember that pathetic slime. We could have finished him off, but he did out dirty work for us."  
  
"W-what?" Vegita said, trying to control his temper.  
  
"Oh, yes. It was my father, the great Hesperos, who was really responsible for the planet's destruction. You see, Planet Vegita was home to a race of beings who were relatively weak and feeble, but we didn't want to take any chances, so we persuaded Freeza to destroy them. We spoke of rumors of the race plotting against him." He said proudly. Vegita was desperately trying to keep his rage down, to save his strength. Orion could see this, and laughed, further enraging Vegita. Trunks was in shock, and Natalie wasn't even sure if he was aware of the situation.   
  
"Then what of you?" Orion asked, turning to Trunks. "Are you an earthling or some other alien freak?" Trunks snapped out of his daze-like stance and glared angrily at the threat. "My, my. If looks could kill." Orion said, looking at the boy with mocking eyes.   
  
"Then you would be ten feet underground." Trunks said, finishing Orion's remark. "Your overconfidence will be your undoing." He said, his voice full of rage. Orion just laughed once more.  
  
"I'm assuming you must be saiyan as well, judging by your attitude. So then what are you doing here with my princess?" Orion asked, crossing his arms.   
  
"She isn't your princess, and never will be." Trunks said, looking at Orion with a lethal glare. Orion's expression changed from amused to angered.  
  
"Don't tell me what she is and isn't. You obviously don't know who I am, nor she." He said, looking over at Natalie, who backed up a few inches. "You must not either, I presume." He said to her.   
  
"N-no." she lied.  
  
"You are princess Carina of the universe Omega." He began. "And your destiny lies with me. Not these saiyan weaklings."  
  
"They aren't w-weaklings." She argued.  
  
"Comparatively speaking, they are. Do you not know of your heritage, your past, and your fate?" he questioned.  
  
"I-I have no idea what you are talking about." She said, lying once again. Orion just sighed.  
  
"Then I guess I will have to tell you. You have descended from the royal family of Vela, superpower of the Omega universe. You were the queen's only offspring, and were destined to inherit the throne on your eighteenth birthday." He explained. "My father, the great Hesperos, was one of the queen's subjects. He became angry with her because he was constantly living in her shadow. So he came up with a plan. He would take the throne for his own, and have us join in marriage to become king and queen of Omega. Unfortunately, the queen wasn't going to let him overpower her easily, so she foolishly confronted him in a battle. Your mother, Queen Melina, erased your memory and sent you away, preventing you from ever knowing who you really were." He said, and then paused. "Then she killed my father, and destroyed the planet Vela, to prevent him from achieving his goal." He said, with hate in his voice. "Fortunately, my father had been cautious and put me in a state of suspended sleep for a period of 1 year, where I would be freed to find you and once again, join together and claim the universe as our own." He finished. Natalie was, by now, on the verge of tears. Trunks and Vegita were staring in utter disbelief at the girl.  
  
"I don't want to leave this planet." She said to Orion.  
  
"Oh but you will. Too bad you don't see things my way, princess. A life with me would yield you anything that you desired, and we would rule Omega with an iron fist. Do you not want that for yourself?" he asked her.  
  
"N-no. I am just fine where I am. Please go, and never return." She pleaded, for she had heard more than she wanted to already.  
  
"I can't let you do that my dear." He said, and reached his hand out, grabbing her arm. Trunks became furious and grabbed his hand, throwing him backwards.  
  
"Don't touch her." He said, the lethal look on his face remaining. Orion narrowed his eyes.  
  
"What did you just say?" he said, his voice becoming full of rage. His armor began to glow a dull red color, and then brightened to a yellow-orange. Trunks' look changed from anger to fear. Orion pointed his index finger a foot away from his face and powered up an attack. Natalie trembled.  
  
"It's too bad you didn't do this the easy way. Now you will die." He said, and prepared to blast Trunks in the heart.  
  
"No!" Natalie screamed, and jumped in front of Trunks just as the beam left Orion's fingers. It shot her left arm and left a burn mark. Blood dripped from her wound, as she grasped her arm in pain.  
  
"Carina!" Orion shouted, and then glared angrily at Trunks again. By this time, Vegita had given up on controlling his power. His ki was glowing bright yellow and his hair turned gold. His muscles bulged and his eyes turned from black to a deep green color. Natalie looked at him in surprise and soon recognized the transformation from Goten's attempt before.  
  
"I suggest you leave this planet immediately." Vegita said with a serious expression in his voice.   
  
"I don't think so, saiyan trash. You will be the ones to suffer."  
  
"Stop this!" Natalie screamed. Orion and the two saiyans looked at her in surprise. "There is no need for violence! I will not join you!" she screamed furiously, as her own ki flared its familiar bright blue color.   
  
"But you will, princess." He said, and fired at Trunks, catching him off guard. The blast knocked him off balance and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud. His face was twisted in pain as he struggled to get on his feet. Natalie looked down at him and became angrier with Orion. He then shot the boy again with a more powerful blast, causing the earth around him to cave in. When the dust settled, Trunks lay in the center of a crater, with debris covering half of his body. He tried to move, but his body was paralyzed. Vegita looked at the crater with angered eyes and his aura began to glow brighter. He turned back at Orion.  
  
"How dare you come here and hurt innocent people, for the sake of your own amusement!" he shouted at the warrior. "I will make sure that this time will be your last." He said gravely, and powered up an attack. He threw his power at Orion for all his worth and the energy surrounded the area, producing a blinding white light. When the attack was finished, they all opened their eyes again and saw Orion standing at ground zero, unscathed.   
  
"What!?" Vegita said, his eyes widened.  
  
"You underestimated my power, foolish saiyan." He said, and blasted Vegita. The beam went through his chest, narrowly missing his heart. Vegita fell backward, and coughed up blood. "Heh. Weak being." Orion said. Natalie looked at the sight with fear, anger, hate, and helplessness all in one. Her body wasn't reacting to the situation. Orion shot Vegita again, causing him to fall to the earth as well, landing a few feet away from Trunks. Blood poured from his wound as pain shot through his body like a thousand knives as he struggled to breathe.  
  
"Come with me, princess, and leave these foolish beings to die." Orion said. Natalie didn't move, but only looked at him with sheer terror on her face. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." He said. She still didn't move, and her eyes welled up with tears. "You belong with me." He said, and began to glow. A force hit Natalie like a ton of bricks and her face lost its expression. Suddenly, she lost all control over her body as she hung in the air. Orion reached out to her, and her body slowly drifted towards him. She seemed to be lifeless, and floated into Orion's arms. Tears continued to run down her cheeks as they poured from her lifeless eyes. Trunks looked up at them and struggled to speak. Orion pulled the princess closer; their aura's glowing brighter. Soon, they were mere inches from each other. Vegita looked up as well, observing the horrific sight. He knew that he had to do something but couldn't will his muscles to move. Orion leaned toward the girl, intending to kiss her. She hung helplessly in the air, her face stained from tears. She seemed to be powerless, as he was controlling her body.   
  
"Natalie, no!" Trunks shouted, and struggled with all his might to stand up. His body screamed with protest, but he kept on. He crawled out of the crater and lifted himself onto his knees. Orion's hand reached out and held her chin up, getting closer and closer. Trunks trembled under the massive amount of pain, but couldn't give in. He powered up a weak ki blast, but it dissipated. He tried once more, but failed. "Natalie!" he shouted to the girl, but she was unaware of his cries. Orion's lips met hers, and their aura's joined together, glowing with an intense blue color, surging with power. She closed her eyes and the warrior had complete control over her. Trunks screamed with anger, looking up at the two. He powered up to super saiyan, and struggled to lift into the air. He fired at Orion, breaking his control over the princess. She jumped back, and gasped for air, her muscles tense and her eyes forced shut as her body went rigid. She lost all energy and fell to the earth, landing unconscious next to Vegita. Orion looked at Trunks with pure rage.  
  
"How dare you attack me!" he shouted at the boy. Trunks fired another blast, but it bounced harmlessly off his aura. He fired many more times, but they were all deflected or absorbed. Orion laughed evilly, and powered up. Trunks knew he didn't stand a chance, but stood his ground. He knew he had nothing left to offer, for this warrior was too strong. He thought about his mother, sitting alone at Capsule Corp. He thought about his father, lying in pain on the ground below him. He thought about Natalie lying unconscious on the ground, not aware of what was happening. His eyes welled up, and tears began to stream down his cheeks. He clenched his fists, and prepared to take the beating. Orion just laughed once again, readying his attack.  
  
"So you have finally realized how foolish it was to come against me. Now you will feel true pain." He said, and aimed his attack at the helpless saiyan and fired. Trunks forced his eyes shut as the energy slammed into his already beaten body, surrounding him as he screamed in pain. Orion laughed and poured out more energy. Vegita looked up in horror as his son was being killed in front of his eyes. Orion sent one final wave of raw power at Trunks' body. He fell to the ground and landed next to the unconscious Natalie. Trunks used the last of his energy to reach his hand out to her, placing it on hers.   
  
"I-I love you..." he said, and then closed his eyes. His body trembled in pain and then stopped, as one final tear slid down his cheek, and landed in the dust. He was dead.   
  
Suddenly, Natalie's eyes shut tightly, as if she was in pain, and she gritted her teeth. Her ki flared and she forced her eyes open, looking into the sky. Her eyes stung, and she looked over at Vegita, who was in shock, and then turned her head. She looked in Trunks' direction, and witnessed his dead body lying next to hers. She widened her eyes in horror, and grasped his hand. More tears slid down her face and she frantically rested her head on his chest, checking for a heartbeat, but found none. She sat up and cried out to the sky, her voice full of pain and emotion. Vegita just closed his eyes and listened to the sound. Orion looked down at Natalie, and saw Trunks' dead body lying next to hers. He laughed at the sight and looked over at Vegita, sensing that he was not yet dead. He powered up an attack to finish him off, as Natalie looked up at him with tear stained eyes, full of rage. She grew a bright blue aura and the ground around her began to tremble. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, looking Orion right in the eyes. Vegita looked on as pieces of debris lifted into the air around her. Her power level began to rise sharply, as she tensed her body more and more. The saiyan watched in surprise as she shot into the air and slammed into Orion's body, sending him flying. He stopped himself in mid-air and looked down in surprise as her aura began to grow brighter.   
  
"What the -!" he shouted, and looked at his princess with fear. This time, it was her turn. She threw energy blasts at him and charged at him with her fists out. He dodged her physical attacks, but was having trouble with the energy ones. He became angry and stopped in mid air. He looked at Natalie and clenched his right fist. Suddenly, Natalie stopped her attacks and grasped her head as the familiar pain took over her body.   
  
"Y-you! You've been doing this to me!" she said, trying to get into an upright position, but her body was doubled over. She let out a scream of pain, amusing Orion. Out of nowhere, a blast of energy slammed into Orion's back, sending him forward. He turned around and saw Goten finishing off a kamehameha.   
  
"Who the hell are you?" he said, angered. Goten just folded his arms and introduced himself. Soon, Goku flew up and joined him as well. Orion was hardly amused with the new company.   
  
"We're gonna teach you not to mess with us, alien bastard." Goten said, readying another attack. Orion became greatly annoyed with this and fired back at him, knocking him back. "What the!" Goten cried. "How did he -?" Goku fired a kienzan at him, attempting to slice him in half, a la Freeza, but it was deflected and bounced harmlessly off of Orion's armor. Goku shouted words that I can't repeat and attempted a kamehameha as well, but Orion deflected that also. He looked and saw Vegita lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, and Trunks' dead body lying nearby.   
  
"Holy shit this guy's strong!" he said to himself, and flew down to Vegita while Goten and Natalie distracted Orion. "Hey Vegita!" he said, landing a few feet away from the fallen warrior.  
  
"K-Kakarott?" He said, lifting his hand up to shield his eyes from the bright lights of the attacks.   
  
"You look pretty bad. But I got something for ya!" Goku said, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bag. "Here, it's my last one." he said, reaching into the sack and pulling out a single senzu seed and tossing it to Vegita, who put it in his mouth and chewed on it. Instantly, he was revived and sat up, looking over at Trunks. He clenched his fists in anger and stood up on his feet.   
  
"I'm gonna kill that bastard with my bare hands." He said, and prepared to launch into the air.  
  
"Hold it!" Goku said, and grabbed Vegita's ankle before he flew away. "They're taking care of him right now. Don't step in until you have to; we don't want to risk you getting hurt more than you have to." He said, and walked over to Trunks, shaking his head in disgust. He looked up at the two fighters attacking Orion. Goten fired a blast at the enemy, but it bounced back, as usual. Orion fired back at Goten, knocking him back a few feet. He continued to blast Goten until the saiyan couldn't remain airborne anymore and began to fall. Orion stood over him and fired a blast into his back, sending him flying toward the ground. Goten screamed and prepared for the impact. He slammed into the earth and left a crater where he had landed. He coughed up a mixture of dirt and blood, while Natalie watched helplessly from 50 feet above. She fired at Orion, who sent it back at her, and she barely managed to dodge it.  
  
"I highly suggest that you stop this before I have to use desperate measures." He said, looking into her tear-stained eyes. There was something about his crystal blue eyes that caused her to become faint and powerless, but she fought to gain control and fired at him once more.   
  
"You don't want everyone to end up like your foolish friend down there, do you?" he said, gesturing to Trunks' lifeless body. She glanced down at him and tears filled her eyes again, for she knew that she couldn't help him any longer. She looked back at Orion and held her hand above her hand, gathering a tremendous amount of energy.  
  
"Akiyah...!" she shouted, and brought her hand down, aiming her attack at his chest. Orion looked on with a surprised expression on his face. "...Meh!" she screamed and finished the attack. The energy hit Orion like a cement wall, and sent him flying backward. He regained his composure and he looked up at the girl with menacing eyes. Suddenly, Goten smacked him from behind, sending him flying forward toward Natalie. Unfortunately, she didn't dodge in time, and Orion smacked into her. Orion took the opportunity and grabbed her by the back of the neck, and turned to face Goten.   
  
"One more move, boy, and I will severely damage this girl's body." He said, gripping her neck tighter, which caused her to whimper in pain.   
  
"Leave her out of this!" Goten said, preparing an attack.  
  
"Go on, shoot me." He said, grinning evilly. "You'll only endanger her life as well."   
  
"G-Goten...d-don't." Natalie said, trying to breathe. His grip was blocking her windpipe, therefore cutting off her oxygen supply. Goten finally let his attack dissipate, and dropped his hands down to his sides.  
  
"There. That's better." Orion said, and threw Natalie's weak body toward the earth. She was on the verge of losing consciousness, and couldn't gather the strength to boost herself back up. She closed her eyes and awaited the impact, but someone caught her before she hit the ground. She turned around feebly and saw Vegita holding her. He set her on the ground gently as she coughed and gasped for air. As he prepared to fly up to the battle scene, Goku stopped him again.  
  
"Let me go, Kakarott!" Vegita shouted, and attempted to break free.  
  
"No. You stay here with the girl and I'll go." He said, and shot into the air. He joined the badly beaten Goten.  
  
"Hey!" He called out to Orion, who spun around. "Why don't you leave him alone and fight with me now?" he said, getting into position.  
  
"Sure. Let me just get rid of the crowd." He said, and fired at the weakened Goten. He cried out in pain and was sent flying towards to the ground and landed with a thud. He coughed up some more blood as Natalie rushed over to where he was lying.   
  
"That wasn't necessary!" Goku shouted, and gathered energy.   
  
"That's okay. It makes for good entertainment." He laughed. Goku threw his energy at the warrior, who sent it flying back. Goku dodged it and blasted Orion again. He continued his rapid fire, but didn't manage to get any hits in. After a few minutes, Goku ceased fire.  
  
"Oh, is that all you've got?" he laughed, and prepared a counter-attack.   
  
"Hardly." Goku said, breathing heavily. He did the routing stripping thing, removing his weighted clothing and wristbands (sometimes I think he does this just to show off his body ^_^). "Ah, that's much better." He said, stretching his arms.   
  
Meanwhile, Natalie was tending to Goten.   
  
"Goten! Can you hear me?" she cried, flipping his body over to face her. His face was covered in scratches and bruises, and blood was running down his chin. He coughed up more blood.  
  
"Goten you just take it easy, okay?" she said, wiping the blood off his face with her shirt. She glanced over at Vegita, who was standing over his son. She got up and walked over to where he was standing.  
  
"A-are you okay?" she asked cautiously.   
  
"I'm fine!" he shouted at her, obviously distressed. She backed away, and turned around to Goten, who was lying on the ground in a lot of pain. She looked around frantically, with nowhere to go, so she shot up into the air. She made sure to avoid the battle, and hovered in the air, watching the two warriors fight. Orion glanced over and prepared to go after her, when Goku grabbed his arm.  
  
"Going somewhere?" he said, looking at Orion with an evil look on his face.   
  
"How dare you lay a hand on me you pathetic earth being!" he said, and shot a strong blast at Goku, which hit head-on. Goku was knocked back several feet before regaining his composure. He looked up and Orion was already preparing another blast.  
  
"Damn this guy is too strong!" he thought to himself, and created a ki shield. Orion fired at Goku, and the blast surrounded Goku's shield, but didn't pass through. Orion became frustrated and poured more and more energy into his blast, until it penetrated the shield and slammed into Goku's body with much force. Goku cried out, and tried to deflect it, but it was too strong and sent him flying back once again. He slammed into Natalie, who was hovering nearby, and caused them both to fall to the ground. She tried desperately to get out from under him, but the force of the attack had them basically stuck together. They slammed into the earth hard, knocking the air out of Natalie, as she was pinned under Goku's body. He struggled to his feet, helping her up as well.  
  
"Sorry about that." He said, and looked back up at Orion. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to react before an enormous wave of energy consumed his body, causing him to fall back on his knees. He cried out in pain, which caused Orion to laugh and send more energy towards him. Soon, he was knocked onto his back and Natalie jumped back in horror. The force of the energy was too strong for Goku to withstand, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. Orion then sent a slim beam, similar to a laser, flying down at him, penetrating his skin and cutting a hole through his chest. Goku sputtered and blood ran down his torso, as Natalie watched with a terrified look on her face. She ran over to where Vegita was standing and informed him of the situation, and he clenched his fists and shot into the sky after Orion. He was still in super saiyan mode, and powered up to super saiyan 2. He was infuriated and sent multiple beams at the alien's body, causing him to be knocked off balance. Vegita was blurring in and out of sight, sending punches flying at Orion's armor and face. Natalie ran over to Goku who was barely holding on to his life.   
  
"Say something!' she said, and checked his vital signs. Seeing him, Goten, and Trunks lying on the ground caused her to break down into tears again. She blotted his wound with the end of her shirt, trying to slow the bleeding. Goku looked up at her.  
  
"W-who are you?" he asked, for he had not met her before.  
  
"My name is Natalie. What is yours?" she asked, forcing a smile.   
  
"Goku. Natalie...where did you come from? Are you from earth?" he asked, sensing her incredibly high power level. She closed her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek, landing on his chest.   
  
"No." she said. "I am from a planet called Vela. I don't even remember being sent here..." she trailed off. "Orion...he came here after me." She said, trying not to show any emotions at the time. "He wants to take me away from this place." She said, another tear streaming down her face.  
  
"Why?" he asked, coughing up some blood.   
  
"I don't know." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked back up at Vegita, who was having a bit of trouble with Orion. She shot into the air and joined the battle scene.  
  
"Get out of here, girl!" Vegita shouted at her as he threw his hands out, preparing an attack. She backed up a few feet, but did not leave the sight. "I told you to leave!" he yelled once more, still gathering energy. She looked at Orion, who was powering up as well. "Final..." Vegita started, as the energy around his body began to glow intensely. Natalie began to back up more, trying to stay out of the way. "FLASH!" Vegita screamed, and the energy screamed towards the unsuspecting warrior at an amazing speed. It impacted with his body and exploded, sending Natalie towards the ground as a result of the enormous amount of power. She shot into the ground next to Goku at high speed, causing her to be drilled into the ground several inches. Her body was trembling with pain and she felt like every bone in her body had been pulverized. She cried out in pain and tried to lift her body out of the ground, but she couldn't move. She looked desperately at the battle sight, and observed Vegita finishing off his attack. When the dust cleared, she witnessed Orion standing in the same spot, almost untouched except for a few burn marks. Vegita jumped back in surprise and fired another blast at the enraged Orion, which bounced off harmlessly. Orion then put his hands above his head and gathered energy from all around.   
  
"Tsumono!" he shouted, and fired at the helpless saiyan warrior. The attack engulfed him, and his body twisted in pain as the energy surged through his body. He gritted his teeth in pain as Orion sent more power into his already damaged body. "Kamanko!" Orion yelled out, and sent another wave of strong energy towards Vegita, who screamed in pain and terror. He tried to shield himself, but his power was all gone, absorbed by Orion's attack. His body was paralyzed in pain and the warrior's attack failed to cease. Finally, everything stopped as blackness melted into Vegita and he fell to the earth, where his body lay limply on the ground. Natalie tried to get up, but pain shot through her body. She looked over at the fallen saiyan and realized that he was dead.   
  
"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She struggled and tried to lift her body but her attempts proved to be futile. She cried out for someone, but everyone had fallen. Tears streamed down her face as she realized that all hope was gone. She began to convulse in terror and wished for it all to end. Orion floated to the ground and walked over to where she was lying.   
  
"So, princess. It looks as though you will be joining me after all." He said, and lifted her out of the ground telekinetically. He brought her trembling body into his arms and gripped her soft shoulders. She looked up at him with a tear-stained face as he brushed a tear off her cheek and looked into her wet eyes. "Don't be afraid, Carina." He spoke to her. She attempted to speak, but her voice was gone. Orion lifted her chin up and kissed her once more. She tried to pull away but her body went numb and her aura flared brilliantly as it met with his. Energy surrounded the two as the clouds grew dark and thunder rumbled. Lightning bolds struck the ground and shook the earth. Gale force winds blew from all directions. Natalie knew he had won.  
  
Suddenly, her ki flared brilliantly and she shot away from Orion's grasp, much to their surprise and she looked at herself in amazement. The ground shook as she clenched her fists and powered up.  
  
"Carina! Stop!" Orion cried out to the angered girl. She ignored his cries and glared angrily at him.  
  
"Look what you've done!" she cried. Her body began to glow a pinkish white color as millions of points of light converged around her like little fireflies in the dark, stormy sky. Lightning struck the ground near her but she was unfazed as she focused on the alien warrior who had dared to come disturb the peace of earth. She held up her hands to the sky as if gathering a Genki Dama, and cried out.  
  
"A...ki...yah..." she said, her voice reverberating all around the area. Her muscles were burning in protest, but she ignored the pain and continued to gather energy. Orion's armor glowed the familiar red-orange color as he anticipated her attack. "...Meh!" she screamed and brought her hands down in an open clamshell position, similar to the kamehameha pose. Enormous waves of raw energy erupted from her hands and flew and neck breaking speed towards the startled Orion. He held his hands out in defense, but the energy slammed into him with such force that he flew backward several tens of feet. The attack surrounded his body as he cried in pain and rage. Natalie then shot forward and slammed her fists into his chest, knocking the air out of him. He looked at her with confusion and wonder on his face, and tried to reach out to her.   
  
"C-Carina...princes...don't d-do this..." he managed to speak, but she was relentless and continued her brute attack on his body. Her power level skyrocketed and she sent several more ki blasts at him. Her aura was a brilliant blue color and it left trails in the sky as she flew at him from all directions. She was moving so fast that she left temporary images of herself where she had once been. This confused Orion as he took the beating from the girl. She flew back several feet from where Orion's body hung in the air. He had bruises and burns all over his body, and parts of his armor had been cracked. She powered up another blast and bent backwards, then snapping forward again to deliver the final blow to Orion. He had no time to react as the power enveloped his body and surged through his veins, incinerating his flesh and causing extreme pain to shoot through him. He cried out one final time before losing his balance and falling. She shot after him and planted a punch into his stomach, propelling him to the ground. He slammed into the earth with her fist still embedded in his armor and his bones snapped on impact. He barely opened his eyes and looked into the face of princess Carina one last time before she delivered the fatal blast to his face, killing him on impact. She continued to beat on his dead body until she was satisfied and then fell on the ground next to him, crying. She crawled over to Trunks' body and threw herself onto him, tears running down her face and splashing onto his chest. She gathered dirt into her hands and clenched her fists around it, her body exhausted but her mind very much alive. She wept for him and everyone else as they all lay there under the dark sky and cried out to the sky in pain, all alone.   
  
Suddenly her body started to glow and she raised to her knees.  
  
"What's happening?" he said, her voice echoing around the area. Soon, energy began to flow from her body and come together at a single point a few inches from her chest. She looked down and enveloped her hands around the strange light. It was warm, and the light surrounded her body, calming her. Soon, the ball of light compacted and formed a small crystal with a brilliant golden star in the middle.   
  
"The crystal star!" she cried out, remembering this from her dream. She held it above her head as the power surged through her body, and then threw the crystal into the air, where it stopped about 20 feet above the ground. A blinding white light exploded from the crystal and surrounded the area. When the light dimmed, she fell onto the ground next to Trunks and fainted from the extreme surge of power. The crystal exploded into millions of points of light and returned to her body, absorbing into her skin and glowing with life. The light soon dissipated and the area sat still in silence under the grey sky. 


	14. Chapter 14

Cosmic Crisis  
  
Chapter 14 - The Aftermath  
  
  
Natalie slowly awakened to a breeze rustling through her hair. She sat up, her muscles stiff with soreness. She looked around at the scene, realizing that everyone was still lying on the ground in the same positions. She perked up and turned her head frantically, trying to gather her thoughts. Suddenly, the sound of moving caused her to turn around in surprise. She observed Trunks struggling to sit up. Natalie cried out in joy and literally jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
  
"Trunks! Oh my god you're alive!" she screamed, putting her head on his shoulder and cried tears of happiness.   
  
"N-Natalie?" he said, putting his sore arms around her. "What happened?"   
  
"Everything's fine now!" she said, and looked into his blue eyes, overwhelmed with happiness. She brought her lips to his, and they kissed under the cool, grey sky. Soon, everyone else began to awake, as if from a deep sleep, and observed the couple wrapped around each other. Vegita looked up with a startled expression on his face while Goku and Goten looked at each other with sweat drops aplenty. Everyone stood up and had their turn to be strangled to death by the over-excited warrior girl. Soon they all managed to get back to Capsule Corp. for recuperation and Bulma passed out senzu seeds to all the fighters while dishing out lots of questions for the fighters. Bra ran into the room where everyone was and jumped into Vegita's lap with a grin from ear to ear.   
  
"Daddy! Mommy said you kicked some ass!" she cried, not realizing what she just said. Natalie cracked up as Bulma turned bright red with embarrassment.   
  
"Yep." Vegita said proudly, flexing his arms for his little girl to see. Goku walked over and slapped him on the back.  
  
"Good job, Vegita ol' pal!" he said with a ridiculous grin on his face.  
  
"Ow! Don't touch me Kakarott!" Vegita cried in protest.  
  
"Yep, he's back to normal." Goku confirmed, and Goten pulled him back into his seat with a humiliated look on his face. Bulma walked around the group, cleaning their wounds and wiping dirt off their bodies. It was like a reunion with all the saiyan warriors sitting together with their girls. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door and Bulma got up to go answer it. The group could hear angered cries from the foyer and she came walking back into the room with Chi-Chi close behind.  
  
"Where have you two been!?" she shouted at Goku and Goten. "Now your dinner is cold and I found a grey hair!" she said, still wearing her apron. Goku just looked at his wife with a cheesy smile on his face and muttered a pathetic apology. "You two come home right now!" she cried angrily, and walked out the door. The two saiyans got up to leave. Goten walked over and gave Natalie a friendly hug before leaving. Goku said his good-byes and the two were out the door, running after the furious Chi-Chi. When they left, the Briefs family began to settle in once again. Bulma cooked a huge dinner to celebrate and they were all very happy to be together. When everything was finished, Bulma and Vegita got up to go to bed, leaving Trunks, Natalie, and Bra sitting at the table.   
  
"Natalie can I ask you a question?" Bra asked with a devilish grin on her little face.  
  
"Sure." Natalie replied, looking over at the tiny saiyan girl.  
  
"Are you in love with my brother?" she asked cutely, and then glanced over at Trunks who looked rather uncomfortable.  
  
"Heh...um...well..." Natalie started, her face bright red, when Trunks got up from the table.  
  
"Bra we really need to get to bed, come on let's go upstairs, okay?" he said, grabbing his sister by the arm and muttering something under her breath.  
  
"But I don't want to go!" she cried, and tried to break away from her brother. Trunks forced his little sister into bed and promised to play dolls with her the next day if she went to sleep. Natalie was walking up the stairs just as Trunks emerged from Bra's room and they both went to their separate rooms to get dressed for bed. Natalie got into the shower and enjoyed the feeling as the warm water ran down her back, soothing her wounds. She winced in pain when she washed her body, the soap stinging her cuts. When she was finished, she gently dried her body and rubbed medicated lotion on her arms and legs. She then put on a pair of baggy, black nylon pants and a navy blue tank top, to minimize pain from sleeves rubbing against her wounded arms. She blow-dried her soft brown hair, reminiscing on the day's events. How close they'd come to the end. Just thinking about it caused her to shudder as a chill ran down her spine. When she was finished, she walked out onto her balcony, looking up into the velvety sky. A crescent moon shone brightly, surrounded by thousands of twinkling stars, glittering like jewels in the ocean of air that blanketed the earth. She looked over at Trunks' balcony and saw a stream of light coming from his room. She flew over and knocked on the glass doors, and saw his face peek from behind the curtains. She smiled at him as he walked out onto the balcony to join her. She held his arm and leaned on him as they stood together.  
  
"Trunks?" she asked, looking up at him.  
  
"Yeah, Natalie?" he replied, still staring straight ahead.  
  
"I - " she broke off, and Trunks looked down at her as her green eyes filled up with tears.  
  
"What?" he asked, holding her closer.  
  
"I love you." She said, and then gripped his arm tightly as she came closer to him.  
  
"I love you too, Natalie." He said, and bent down to kiss her. The two stood on the balcony, embracing under the black sky on the cool night as a breeze blew threw their hair.   
  
  
A wind blew across the field where Orion's body lay motionless, embedded in the ground. Dust and debris were lying all around and the earth was caved in around him. The moonlight cast shadows upon his face and the wind rustled his spiky blonde hair. Suddenly, his crystal blue eyes snapped open and an evil grin appeared on his face as an evil laughter echoed throughout the universe.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
...The End 


End file.
